Two Blondes: One Time Era
by Samberlina
Summary: After an encounter with an old friend, Naruto accidentally travels back in time. Why is the Yondaime still alive, and just who hunts him in this time line? Is there any way to get back to the present? Minato Namikaze - alive. AU
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Naruto franchise. It all belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

**Summary:** After an encounter with an old friend, Naruto accidentally travels back in time. Why is the Yondaime still alive and just who is after him now? Is there any way to get back to his present time? Minato Namikaze, alive.

**Time Frame: **Set after the Kage Summit. Slightly changing it, making Naruto oblivious about his and Minato's relationship. He never met him in his mind scape, he has only seen picture's of the man in the Hokage office.

"talk"

_'thought'_

_**"Kyūbi"**_

* * *

**Two Blondes, One Time Era**

Chapter One

Published: 8-4-09

Updated: 1-26-10

* * *

_I'm getting to old for this_, the Godaime groaned.

Tsunade continued her daily grumbling to herself, often questioning her sanity about taking the position of Hokage. She wanted nothing more than to settle down for a nap after downing a bottle of her favourite sake. Figuring it would be too obvious to set fire to the Hokage tower, the Legendary Sucker shifted her eyes to the towering pile of paperwork on her desk, smoldering her hopes of a carefree morning.

The pleasant greeting of "Good morning master!" quickly brought her out of her despair, glancing up quickly, happy for the distraction.

...Only to drop her smile instantly from her face, frowning at her pink haired apprentice – or more at the large pile of awaiting paperwork in her arms. She sighed deeply, was there any perks to her job at all?

"Sorry Tsunade-sama" Sakura laughed nervously, knowing of the violent thoughts in her master's mind "The write up reports about the fire in the west of the village last week, you know it can't be put off"

The Godaime waved it off, "That's fine, I'll see to it shortly. If you have time later would you find that blonde teammate and inform him to come get his next mission?"

"Of course, Tsunade-sama." Bowing quickly, the pink haired medic rushed from the room, grateful to evade the depressing mood of the busty blonde.

Sighing dramatically again, Tsunade eyed the larger pile with distaste, wanting nothing more than to toss it out her window. So focused on the pile, she never noticed Shizune enter the room during Sakura's departure.

"Staring at the work isn't going to make it go away Tsunade-sama" Shizune stated dryly, picking up the stack and dumping it on the desk in front of the Hokage.

"Anything other than doing the actual work is an improvement," Tsunade grumbled, cupping her chin with her palms, the better to be comfortable whilst wishing her work away.

Grinding her teeth in frustration, Shizune marched forward, slapping her hand down on the added addition of paperwork to gain the blonde's attention.

"What?" Tsunade finally snapped, reluctantly tearing her eyes away from the pile to glare at her apprentice.

"Get to work Tsunade-sama" Shizune snapped "You haven't completed anything today. The workload is only going to enlarge if you neglect it any longer."

"I know, I know, quit reminding me," the Godaime protested. "Although," she added, smiling smugly, "you standing around bickering all day isn't going to help me work either," she mentally congratulated herself for thinking so quickly, nodding her head proudly.

Shooting one last glare at her, Shizune simply tsked and headed for the door. She paused in the doorway and looked back warningly. "Get it done Tsunade-sama, no slacking off like every other day now," with a smile accompanying her words, she turned and vanished, closing the door with a soft click behind her.

Once sure her apprentice was long gone, Tsunade sighed before putting her head between her hands "Why am I still Hokage" she mumbled to herself, thinking of how many years it had racked up to be now.

_Naruto should have taken over by now,_ she smiled to herself, thinking of her favorite blonde. The years had passed smoothly after Nagato had attacked the village, save for Danzo raging constantly since she was reinstated as Hokage. _The look on your face after learning your term as Hokage was so short lived was quite amusing,_ she smirked, remembering a particular part when Danzo's visible eye began twitching when informed.

She sighed again, her thoughts reverting back to Naruto. _I can't believe how far you've come since I've met you,_ she smiled, thinking fondly of the now 18-year-old. _How things have changed since you were the dead-last academy student._

Pulling herself out of her thoughts, Tsunade grit her teeth in determination _Focus now, focus. Like Shizune said, if I don't do it now the pile will only grow._

Pulling the first stack towards her, the Godaime glanced down at the first report and felt her willpower drain away instantly. "I can always do it in the afternoon," she muttered, pushing the stack away from her.

"There's only one thing I need right now, and that's a pick-me-up," she grinned, hand already rummaging under her desk for a spare bottle.

* * *

After leaving the Hokage tower, Sakura lengthened her stride towards the hospital, intent on seeing if her help was required. Smiling pleasantly at the passing civilians and waving to a couple she recognised, the time passed smoothly and soon she was approaching the hospital doors. Upon walking up to the building, she quickly ran into a familiar face.

"Forehead" Ino smiled in greeting, pausing to talk to her once again best friend and rival "Keeping busy? I haven't seen you since you left for your last mission."

"Pig" Sakura retorted quickly, grinning back at her friend. The once teasing names they had used for each other had now become an affectionate reference, although neither girl would admit it. "Not really, Tsunade-sama has upped my training but no big missions have come by lately," she paused. "Is the work schedule here under control?" she gestured to the building behind the Yamanaka.

"Oh yeah," Ino waved her hand dismissively, "Been a real bore, not many people coming in lately, I suppose that's a good thing though," she grinned.

"Easy work for us then," Sakura laughed, "Thanks Ino, I was just making sure, had to try and fill up today somehow." Turning after waving goodbye, Sakura began making her way back down the path. Ino smiled at her retreating figure, brushing a strand of her long blonde hair from her face.

"Hey, Sakura," she paused as the Slug's apprentice turned back to her questioningly. "We should catch up sometime soon," she called, grinning widely.

A slightly surprised Sakura gazed back at her, now immsensely happy she and Ino had gotten over their squabble. This was the Ino she had become friends with when they were children. This was the Ino who helped her redeem her self confidence. "Sure Ino," she beamed, "I'd like that." With one last cheery wave to the blonde, Sakura turned and began her hunt for Konoha's most unpredictable ninja.

* * *

_Naruto you better be up,_ Sakura thought dryly, jumping from building to building towards Naruto's apartment. Upon arriving at the nearly run down apartment, she knocked on his door lightly, quickly proceeding to his windows after no response.

Growing slightly worried, Sakura ventured nimbly back to his front door. Turning the handle, she was surprised to find it unlocked, yet hastily pulled it open, quietly walking inside and flicking on a light.

Peering into the living room, there was no sign of the blonde anywhere. Frowning slightly, she walked into the kitchen, opening the blinds throughout the house as she did so. The stuffy apartment smell soon began to dissipate. Upon seeing the empty kitchen, she ventured towards the bedroom, tensing slightly as the door creaked, she peeked into the room, catching site of an empty, unmade bed.

"Ah, where would he be at this time," she mused, "if he just got up that leaves one place." Sighing in realization, she made her way out of the apartment, squinting slightly into the bright sunlight as she took to the roofs again.

Landing on the ground next to her destination, Sakura eyed the sign and snorted slightly. "Ichiraku Ramen, why didn't I come here first?" she sighed, making her way into the booth.

Entering the stand, Sakura sweat dropped at what looked like a blonde pig inhaling bowel after bowl of ramen. She shook her head in disgust, Naruto made it appear as if a magic trick was at work, making the contents of each bowel simply disappear instantly. 'Was he a bottomless pit or something?' Sakura's mouth quirked, as she tried not to laugh.

Composing herself (and adding an appropriate 'I am furious' look) she stormed up beside the blonde and glared, finally capturing his attention.

"Good morning Sakura-chan," Naruto peered over the top of a half finished bowl, foxy grin firm in place, "what ya doing?"

Chanting at herself to not smile at his expression, Sakura breathed slowly through her nose before looking up calmly. "I was looking for you for the last 20 minutes, Tsunade-sama wants you in her office."

Slurping up the rest of his ramen, the blonde gave her a questioning look, to which Sakura just shook her head unhelpfully. "Alright then, thanks for the meal, old man" he yelled joyously, jumping up before speeding towards the Hokage tower, leaving Sakura behind.

* * *

"Hey Baa-chan, what's up" Naruto called, jumping into her office via the window. When no answer came, he peered down at the dozing Hokage before striding closer, muttering obscurities which sounded suspiciously about old women who waste his time.

"Wake up, Baa-chan!" he chanted enthusiastically in her ear, earning a chakra infused punch to the stomach, sending him crashing through the wall into the entrance hall.

"Damnit, what took you so long?" Tsunade grumbled, releasing a yawn as she slowly sat up "I have a new mission for you."

"Really, what?" Naruto yelled excitedly, charging back into the room, his sore stomach already forgotten. "Please tell me it's an A rank" he cried, stars shining in his eyes. "Or maybe even an S rank, have you finally come to realize how totally awesome I am Baa-chan?" he pumped his fist in the air, pulling off an almost identical Gai/Lee enthusiasm scene.

"Umm," the busty blonde scratched her head, "afraid not, this one's only a B rank," she laughed, seeing the blonde's falling glee. "With Kakashi and Yamato both out on missions you're stuck with solo ones" she paused. "No matter how good you are I'm not sending you alone for an A rank."

"Fine, fine" Naruto grumbled, straightening up "What's the mission then?"

Twitching with irritation at the continued use of his nickname for her, the Godaime cleared her throat "You're to travel to a small village about 30 miles north from here. It's a civilian village with no records of any ninja currently residing there. Lately, a band of four ninja's are invading the village at night, stealing any valuables they come across. With no ninja's of their own, the village is defenseless" she stopped, grabbing another scroll and pulling it towards her. "According to the information gathered from the civilian's, the speed and strength place these four ninja's at around Chuunin level. Your job is to take them out or, if possible, incapacitate them for interrogation. Clear?"

"Yes!" Naruto punched the air with his fist "This is gonna be too easy!" Looking back at the Godaime, he gave his foxy grin "So, when do I leave?"

"As soon as possible" she smiled, gazing at her favourite blonde affectionately.

"Right! well I'll see you later then!" with a farewell wave, Naruto jumped back out the window, eager to begin his mission.

* * *

After one last stop for some more Ichiraku ramen, Naruto bade farewell to Teuchi and Ayame, promising to pay back his large ramen debt after his mission.

Pushing forward with a burst of speed, he sped towards the village gates, glimpsing a blur of indigo in his path much too late to stop in time, only allowing Naruto time to promptly swear before crashing head on with it.

"Ow..." Naruto groaned, attempting to free himself from the mass of arms and leg's "Ah, sorry, Hinata-chan."

Giggling at the embarrassed look on the blonde's face, Hinata quickly composed herself as much as she could while lying in a patch of dirt. "It's quite alright Naruto-kun," she smiled brightly at him, discreetly trying to flick dirt from her long locks of hair.

Still smiling apologetically, Naruto rose, offering his hand and pulling Hinata to her feet. After brushing himself off he fixed her with his foxy grin. "Hey, Hinata-chan, are you just returning from a mission?"

"Yes, Naruto-kun, I am" she replied brightly, melting inside at his smile "It was just a simple transport mission so I never ran into any trouble," she surveyed his shouldered backpack, "are you heading off for one now?" Seeing his affirmative nod, Hinata steeled herself 'I should ask now,' she pondered, not giving herself a chance to chicken out. "Naruto-kun," she took a deep breath, still unable to prevent the pink tinge which quickly appeared on her cheeks. "Do you want to go out somewhere together after you come back from your mission?" she blurted out quickly, steeling herself for the worst.

Naruto's face turned red, memories surfacing of Hinata pronouncing her feelings for him before facing Nagato's Deva Path head on. Neither had mentioned what she had shouted that day but both still thought about it often. Naruto believed she only said it during the heat of the battle, as she never brought it up again. Finally realizing the white-eyed beauty still desired him, Naruto's heart swelled inside.

"U-um I would love to Hinata-chan" he stuttered quickly, quite flabbergasted, flipping the tables and suddenly becoming the nervous one out of the pair.

Blushing even more from his acceptance, Hinata beamed at his answer. _She's not that shy girl I used to know,_ Naruto mused, chuckling to himself, reflecting on the many times Hinata fainted around him.

"Okay then," she shuffled her feet slightly, eyes fixated on the movement, hiding her face from view. "I guess I'll see you later then Naruto-kun" she smile became, if possible, even wider, as her eyes finally rose up to meet Naruto's again. She gave a slightly hesitant wave as she turned and began making her way to the tower to get a report sheet.

Grinning after her retreating form, Naruto vowed to make their time together as memorable as possible. Turning back to the path, he raised a hand to shield his eyes from the sun as he looked back at Hinata. "It's a date!" he shouted suddenly after her, before quickly running out the gate.

Blushing furiously, Hinata quickened her pace to the Hokage tower, heart beating frantically.

* * *

Jumping through the trees, Naruto knew he was making great time to the village. "Should be there before nightfall" he muttered, eager to punish the ones responsible for wreaking havoc upon the innocent civilians of the village.

Adding an extra spurt of chakra to his feet, he pushed off harder from the trees, leaving small dents in his wake. As the sun made it's duration over the sky and dusk began to settle, Naruto knew he must not be far off. Slapping a mosquito from his arm, Naruto stiffened slightly as his senses suddenly picked up four other chakra signals around him approaching swiftly. Halting suddenly on a tree, Naruto strained to determine where would strike first. Of no doubt he had that these people intended to incapacitate him, the malevolence of their chakra was thick in the air.

Crouching down slightly, Naruto evaded a lazily thrown kunai that was thrown at his head from his right. _Are they underestimating me?_

"Naruto," a cold voice stated coolly from his left, instantly drawing his attention to the slightly familiar voice. "Fancy meeting you out here," the voice chuckled, as its owner walked confidently into Naruto's line of sight.

"Sasuke" Naruto grit out, glaring at his once rival. Feelings of conflict were whirling in his mind that his once team member had set off. He wanted Sasuke to return home, yet Sasuke himself was making that pretty impossible. From joining Akatsuki and attacking the Kage's at the summit, it seemed he didn't intend to _ever_ return home. Technically he couldn't after Danzo had announced an 'Uchiha Sasuke Hunting Season.'

"Ehh, this is the host of the Kyūbi no Yōko?" a young shark looking man questioned, slurping an icy drink as he considered Naruto. "It's hard to believe this was the person who defeated Pain," he commented, surveying Naruto with interest.

"Suigetsu, stay out of this," Sasuke threw a single glare towards the blade wielder, who quickly fell into silence.

_Sasuke is so cool!_ Karin's thoughts were known to all as hearts appeared in her eyes, the three other members of Team Taka rolled their eyes while Naruto looked on incredulously.

"Well Naruto," Sasuke raised his eyes to Naruto, still perched on his tree ledge, "I decided to end out little.. triviality, once and for all." He grinned as Naruto tensed further, fists clenched at his sides. "How about we pick up from where we left off?"

"Hmph," Naruto scoffed, watching almost casually as a chidori sprung to life on Sasuke's hand, the loud chirping sound echoing throughout the forest. "No level two course seal this time, Sasuke?"

"Orochimaru's... influence was removed from my body," Sasuke laughed coldly, "not that I need it to beat someone of your caliber." He paused momentarily, observing Naruto charge up a Rasengan before giving an approving nod of his head. "Not going to cheat with that demon's help? How noble," he sneered, "Isn't this your cue to whine about how you're going to drag me back _'home'?_"

Ignoring the remark, Naruto straightened up, his Rasengan whirling on his hand. "You know Sasuke," he jumped from the tree and looked across at his ex teammate sadly, "I would, but why bother trying with a lost cause?"

Gritting his teeth in concentration, Naruto dashed forward, covering half of the distance between them in seconds. Rushing out to meet him, the raven haired teenager grunted in approval, before both boys met in the middle and slammed their attacks into each other.

"What the!" Karin yelled, jumping backwards, sensing the off chakra. "Sasuke!" she bellowed, "get out of there now!"

Blindly trusting his team mate, Sasuke threw himself away from the blonde moments before a deafening BOOM! blew him off his feet and causing himself to slam into a tree.

"What the.. heck," Sasuke groaned, rising to his knees with the help of a concerned Juugo, "what happened?" He quickly glanced back at the crater in the early, failing to see any sign of the blonde.

"It was.. something when both your chakra mixed," Karin managed to ground out, "I have never felt anything like that before."

"Hmm, what happened to him?" Sasuke questioned aloud, casting another glance over the ruined site. "Did he get away?"

Shaking his head, Juugo answered his suspicions. "No, he just vanished when the explosion occurred, he didn't get away."

"Imagine that," Sasuke scoffed, finally getting to his feet and turning to leave. Pausing at the entrance of the clearing he looked back, dark eyes smoldering in disappointment. "Nothing more than the dead last after all."

* * *

**_-o,"_**

"Urgh."

_**-uto."**_

"What?" Naruto questioned, opening his eyes and gazing around the dark room "Who is that?"

_**"Naruto."**_ a voice echoed throughout the darkness, a loud rustling echoed throughout the seemingly large cave. _**"You always get us in the worst situations," **_a large sigh penetrated the air.

"Huh, Kyūbi, is that you?" questioned Naruto, turning around to be met with the fox's piercing red eyes, shattering the blindness. "What do you mean, worst situations, I didn't start that fight!"

_**"But now we have to suffer because of it,"**_ the moody fox grumbled, **_"this is going to be interesting."_**

"Interesting?" Naruto piped up enthusiastically, "what's happening to us?"

**_"Don't ask nonsense, kit, I have no definitive answer of what has happened, only my suspicions,"_** the fox growled. **_"Although my suspicions usually turn out being right, so this is going to be.. awkward,"_** the kitsune half smiled, displaying his massive canines.

"Wha.." Naruto scratched the back of his head and grinned sheepishly, "mind letting me in on your theories?"

**_"Hah, you'll find out soon enough,"_** the demon laughed once more before blasting Naruto from his mind.

* * *

Beep

"."

Beep..beep

".."

Beep..beep..beep

"un"

Beep..beep..beep..beep

"Urgh" Naruto groaned, his wits finally, but slowly, returning to him. He paused before sniffing the air, bleh, he must be in a hospital; nothing else smelt so.. clean. Allowing his other senses to roam, Naruto realized the irritating beeping sound was coming from a heart monitor hooked up to him. Twitching his hand to release a cramp, he winced slightly as he disturbed a needle residing in his hand, _must be an IV drip_.

Finally managing to raise his eyelids, he surveyed a large stretch of white. "Definitely the hospital" he murmured, voice cracking.

"Ah, you're awake," a brisk voice called, drawing his attention. He gazed at the attractive brunette who was busy observing his set of monitors for any irregularity.

"Where's Sakura-chan?" he croaked out, looking around for sight of his pink-haired teammate.

Pondering his question, the woman propped him up slightly and poured him a glass of water which he quickly drained.

"Sakura?" the woman pursed her lips in thought, "I can't think of anyone called Sakura, Sorry hun. Who is she?"

"She's-" he began, breaking off as a swift knock came from the closed door.

Throwing him one last questioning glance, the nurse proceeded to the door, pulling it open slightly. "Ah Hokage-sama, come in," she beckoned with a smile, opening the door further.

Hearing these words, Naruto attempted to sit up further, eager to start his mission 'Complain About Being in Hospital.' Instead, through the door came a tall man, shaggy blonde hair falling wildly over his hitai-ate. Deep blue eyes met his own, staring at him in suspicion, a frown on his face. Naruto gasped, looking at the man, before glaring suddenly.

Pointing a shaking hand at the newcomer in anger and awe, Naruto couldn't control himself, his blue eyes quickly bleeding away to be replaced by crimson. "You!" Naruto yelled furiously, launching himself out of bed and at the taller blonde, claws extended.

* * *

To be continued

Starting a new story to accompany my first, because I think it absolutely fails. Well, attempting to write a story myself full stop is a failure in itself. Views and reviews are loved; constructive criticism is handy as well. I will take any tips to improve my dribble.

Reviews make my world go 'round.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **Don't own, don't sue.

**Summary:** After an encounter with an old friend, Naruto accidentally travels back in time. Why is the Yondaime still alive and just who is after him now? Is there any way to get back to the present? Minato Namikaze, alive.

* * *

**Two Blondes, One Time Era**

Chapter Two

Updated: 2-23-10

* * *

'_This is getting ridiculous_' the Yondaime Hokage frowned, evading yet another blow from the furious teenager. '_And I thought today was going to be another normal, boring day_' he thought wirily, chuckling mentally at his false prediction.

The Yondaime had started his morning like any other, going through the current reports on missions. He had been around half way through until he was blissfully interrupted by an Anbu, stating a potential spy had appeared in the village, heavily wounded.

With an excuse to get out of work, the Yondaime had promptly accepted, wasting no time in vacating the Hokage tower and heading over to the hospital to interrogate the suspicious individual. He had dismissed his Anbu escorts, insisting he enter alone, the better to strike up intimidation in this suspect. Walking confidently into the room, instead of finding a half dead, sneering man (as his mind had so cleverly conjured up) he entered the hospital room to find a bright faced blonde teenager. The boy, who looked no older than twenty, immediately rearranged that cheerful face to fury, wasting no time in lunging at him as soon as he appeared, confirming his doubts of a spy.

While the Yondaime's thoughts were distracted, pondering the results of what happened to a normal day, the teenager; seeing him unfocused, continued with renewed ferocity. The young Hokage's eyes narrowed as he quickly evaded another swipe towards his head, his hair ruffling slightly.

'_Enough is enough,_' he thought, ducking underneath another attack, '_how is he able to fight, he's injured. I best end this right now and start grilling him for details_.'

Darting behind the younger blonde, the Yondaime quickly raised his hand; bringing it down to deliver a quick chop to the teenager's neck, who suddenly vanished beneath him.

"What?" His head snapped up in time to see the blonde dive through the window, sending glass flying. "Damnit," he sighed, rushing to the window, watching the teenager clamber onto an adjoining rooftop. "As if I didn't have enough paperwork," he muttered, jumping through the window after the target.

* * *

'_What the heck, stupid fox!_' Naruto shouted to himself, jumping over the rooftops. '_Why is the Yondaime here alive?_'

He could hear the Kyuubi cackling with laughter inside of him '**_Kit, kit, his face was so amusing when you attacked him. Let's go do it again_,**' he grinned inside his cage, displaying his elevated canines.

'_Stupid, stupid, fox!_' Naruto chastised, frowning in concentration as he fled over the rooftops, "_I was confused! That simple act is going to come back and bite me, isn't it?_' he wondered worriedly.

'**_Don't deny it kit, you were furious at him, not confused_**' Kyuubi gasped between his laughter, he hadn't had so much fun in years. '**_Angry that the man who sealed me inside of you was right there_**," he teased, "**_revenge for that foolish act was so close!_**' he licked his lips in anticipation.

'_Shut up, fox!_' Naruto snapped impatiently, abruptly changing directions, '_If I want your opinion, I'll ask for it_' Naruto growled. '_Again, why is he alive_?'

'**_You can't guess?_**' Kyuubi snorted in disbelief, '**_my my, when did you get so dull in the brain, kit?_**' he grinned smugly at the look of irritation on his containers face. '**_I think it's safe to say that we somehow managed to travel back in time,_**' he smirked slightly in happiness, proudly raising his tails as far as the cage could permit. '**_That must mean there is another impressive nine-tailed fox roaming the lands, sending fear through everyone around._**'

'_Really_?' Naruto mused, deep in thought. '_When did this first 'impressive nine-tails' appear? I haven't heard of such a thing._'

'**_You're treading on thin water, kit,_**' Kyuubi growled, tails deflating suddenly. '**_You treat me as the enemy yet I'm always there for you,_**' he paused, seemingly hurt. '**_Don't you enjoy my ever ceasing company? I'm always here for you, unlike others I could mention_**' he growled.

'_Yeah yeah, only because you had no choice,_' grinned Naruto, infuriating the fox.

Tossing aside his aggression, Kyuubi hastily calmed himself. '**_Well kit you might want to prepare yourself, that blonde fool is approaching fast,_**' He smirked for the upcoming event. '**_Whatever you do, don't look behind you. It looks like he got himself some Anbu to escort him this time. How do you plan on getting out of this?_**'

'_I'll just explain the situation,_' Naruto considered, '_what else can I do?_' He jumped off the current roof and streaked up an alleyway as fast as he could, ignoring the sharp pains from his chest. He glanced down his front quickly, noticing for the first time that his wrapped chest was now staining a dark red. '_Hmm,_' he thought suddenly, '_Sasuke's Chidori must have struck me, how nostalgic,_' he growled slightly as a sudden wave of dizziness hit him. '_Maybe I should rest for a minute,_' he sighed, sliding to the ground against a wall, clutching his injury '_Anyway, fox, it's not like there is a point in running. I don't think I can fight him, not the Yondaime,_' he grimaced in defeat.

'**_Kit you might just have to, I don't think the man's going to believe we came from the future somehow._**_'_

'_I can't fight him!_' protested Naruto '_If you put aside the fact he's a Hokage, I also look up to him! No way fox, no way, I can't do it._'

Kyuubi snarled angrily, '**_toss away your emotions, boy, your so called hero is doing everything he can to hunt us down right now, he's quite ready to fight you, and will. You will at least have to defend yourself against his attacks_**.' He grinned '**_however, it will be quite amusing to see his face if you use his Rasengan against him, it would make this whole fiasco worth it_**.'

'_We'll see,_' Naruto mused, '_I'll attempt to explain the situation to him, if he or the Anbu try to attack I guess I'll have to defend_,' he sighed. '_They'll probably kill me before I can retaliate.' _frowning slightly_,_ he stood up and proceeded in heading up once more to the rooftops.

* * *

Upon his arrival on the roof, Naruto was instantly surrounded by six Anbu, katanas drawn instantaneously, all gazing at him in silence.

"Ehe," he rubbed the back of his head nervously, "I think this has been a big misunderstanding."

"Oh?" replied a new voice humorously, laced with authority. Naruto turned to face the Yondaime, who was frowning at him. "What mistake are you talking about, spy?" he crossed his arms, "Your mistake that you ran or your hesitation that allowed you to be caught?"

"Umm, where to begin?" Naruto mumbled. "It's complicated, but I assure you I am so spy" he paused "It's a really long stor-"

"And that's all it will ever be," the Yondaime paused, looking down at Naruto "A story." He grinned suddenly "Inu, take this spy to Ibiki for interrogation. I'm sure he'll just love to hear your story," he smiled.

'**_Told you they wouldn't listen_**,' Kyuubi suddenly growled, '**_act before your ignorance gets us caught. Fight your way out, now!_**'

Instinctively jumping away from the advancing Anbu, Naruto raised his fingers into a cross and yelled his favorite technique, "Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Head swiveling around in disbelief, the Yondaime gaped at the sheer number of shadow clones produced. '_How does he have this much chakra!_' he thought in amazement, watching Naruto's decent back to the ground.

Upon landing, Naruto realized he had jumped right into the path of the Anbu who had been instructed to detain him. The Inu Anbu, who looked no older than he, rushed towards him, a Chidori chirping in his hands. '_Kakashi-sensei_' Naruto thought in disbelief.

He snapped out of his daze just in time to retaliate with a Rasengan against the Chidori. Ignoring the flabbergasted look on the Yondaime's face, Naruto proceeded in pouring more chakra into the spinning ball. After what seemed like an eternity, both techniques canceled themselves out of existence, leaving a shocking silence in its wake.

Utilizing the pregnant stillness to his advantage, Naruto plunged amongst his army of clones and urged them to split up. Naruto joined a group, shooting away from the dumbfounded Anbu and Hokage.

'_How?_' the Yondaime pondered in astonishment, mouth still gaping open in shock. '_How does he know my Rasengan? Only Jiraiya-sensei and I know that technique._' He closed his mouth, a frown on his face as he ran his fingers distractedly through his blonde locks. '_This need's some explaining, and a lot of it._' Finally snapping out of his thoughts, he raised his eyes to the surrounding Anbu who all continued to stand motionless, merely observing the retreating mass of clones. "Well what are you all waiting for?" he shouted suddenly, "after them!" Following his own words, the Yondaime quickly made his own group of clones, darting off with them after the retreating backs of the many Naruto's.

* * *

"This is too easy," Naruto murmured, walking calmly down the street, surveying the new and old buildings with mild interest. As soon as he had been out of sight he had rushed straight into a deserted alleyway, walking out in his _Oiroke no Jutsu_ form.

Naruto sighed deeply, glancing up wistfully at the Anbu jumping frantically from the rooftops. "He didn't even let me explain," he grumbled sourly, thinking of how the Yondaime pushed aside his claim with ease. "Certainly wasn't the way I had pictured the fourth reacting."

'**_Maybe he's just in a bad mood because he has to deal with an intruder_**' Kyuubi snickered. '**_Did that ever cross your mind?_**'

'_..._'

The fox sweat dropped, lowering his head slightly in disbelief, '**_It didn't, did it?_**'

"Just get out of my head!" Naruto shouted clutching his long hair in anger, realizing a moment later he had yelled aloud.

Blushing furiously, Naruto walked briskly away from the curious eyes, oblivious to surrounding civilians shaking their heads sadly at the poor, troubled teenage girl.

"Hmm" Naruto paused in the street and raised a finger to his mouth in thought, ignoring the many looks he was receiving from gaping males as he cocked his head cutely to the side. "May as well see if Ichiraku's is built yet, I'm famished," he quickened his steps, heading off in search of his desired meal.

* * *

Walking briskly towards his destination, humming softly to himself, Naruto once again cocked his head to the side as a faint but memorable sound reached his ears. Straining to hear again, his suspicions were confirmed as the girlish perverted giggle reached him once more. Momentarily forgetting his current situation, Naruto tore around the corner, dispelling his transformation in excitement.

He finally caught sight of the bathhouse. His attention however, was drawn towards a long white haired man who had his back to him. "Ero-sennin!' he yelled out in happiness, glad to see a familiar face, running up to his previously deceased sensei.

"Nooooo!" Jiraiya yelled out in dismay as his eye candy screamed and ran from the room upon hearing words about a pervert. "You!" he yelled furiously, rounding on Naruto, waving his hands for emphasis, "ruined my research!"

Naruto sweat dropped at the thought that his sensei was already a super pervert, despite the time gap. He cleared his throat and grinned happily, just seeing his old teacher again drove away all thoughts of his terrible morning. "You're not researching anything apart from peeping at women, you Ero-sennin!"

"Such insolence, do you realize who you are talking to? I am Jiraiya, the great Toad Senni-"

"Yeah yeah I know," Naruto yawned, fixing Jiraiya with his gaze, "a great bloody pervert."

"Hmph, I'll let you know my research is going to make me even more famous one way, if that's possible" Jiraiya proclaimed joyously. "I'm considering using my in-depth knowledge to make a great novel," he declared. "The entire world will thank me!"

"I'm sure the majority of the female population will beat you to a pulp as well," laughed Naruto, glancing at Jiraiya fondly.

Jiraiya chuckled at the comment "I'm sure they will, but I'm hoping some will realize how breathtaking my work is instead." Puffing out his chest, he looked around to see if any impressive females were in the immediate vicinity. Spotting none, he slightly deflated until he caught sight of his former student swiftly approaching. He grinned warmly at him, "hey Minato!" he called over Naruto's shoulder, waving at the rapidly advancing blonde.

Gasping silently, Naruto began to whirl around. Before he could comprehend anything other than a yellow blur, a sharp blow struck his neck and his vision went black, the teenager crumpling to the ground.

"Eh?" Jiraiya questioned, watching his former student bending down to check the consciousness of the fallen blonde.

Upon sure the boy was out cold, Minato straightened up "Potential spy," he spoke, voice laced with confusion. "He knew my Rasengan though," he continued, gazing up as Jiraiya's eyes bulged wide. "I'm going to take a guess and say you never taught him?"

Shaking his head, Jiraiya gazed down wordlessly at the teenager.

Sighing in frustration, the Yondaime knelt down and gathered the younger blonde in his arms. "That's another question on the list to ask," he grimaced, rising to his feet.

"I want to be there for the questioning, Minato, if I may, I'm curious as well." Jiraiya scratched his head, "He just ran up to me and acted as if we were long friends. I mean, I know we're talking about the Great Toad Sage Jiraiya here but still, something doesn't feel right."

"Hmm," Minato pondered, turning and beginning to walk, Jiraiya by his side. "Can't believe he lasted so long in the first place," he glanced down at the bundle in his arms. "He's already heavily injured, has a huge hole in his chest," he nodded at the blood soaked through the jacket. "Closest guess to what caused it would be Kakashi's Chidori, who's already announced he never touched the boy. That with jumping through a glass window couldn't have helped either," he paused, picking a fine glass slither from the blonde's arm.

"He has many things to answer for," Jiraiya frowned, quickening his stride to match his former student's.

As the pair walked towards the hospital, the unconscious boy squirmed slightly and began to mumble in his sleep. Minato paused faintly, shifting his arms slightly as he turned his azure eyes down upon the blonde in his arms. "Who are you?" he murmured.

* * *

Reviews are very much appreciated, thank you.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **Don't own, don't sue.

**Summary:** After an encounter with an old friend, Naruto accidentally travels back in time. Why is the Yondaime still alive and just who is after him now? Is there any way to get back to the present? Minato Namikaze, alive.

* * *

**Two Blondes, One Time Era**

Chapter Three

Updated: 2-23-10

* * *

Naruto groggily raised his head, blearily eying his surroundings. Realizing he was once again in the hospital, he groaned, letting his head fall back onto the pillow underneath him.

"Ahem."

Upon hearing the clearing of a throat, Naruto glanced to his side, noticing the Yondaime and Ero-sennin gazing intently back at him. He sighed before warily raising himself into a sitting position, propped up against the fluffy pillow, turning his head away from the two motionless shinobi.

"What is your purpose here?"

Naruto stared fixedly at the wall, ignoring the Yondaime's gaze he could feel burning into the back of his head. He was not going to answer any of the man's questions; his idol or not. It was hard enough for him to grasp what had happened, yet alone attempt to explain it to another. The fourth would most probably class him as insane instantly, dismissing his story as ludicrous. No, best to keep quiet and hope they would leave him to figure out his next course of action.

He heard the Yondaime sigh "How did you get that injury on your chest, if I might ask?"

Pausing in his attempt to count the lines on the hospital wall, Naruto growled softly, reflecting on Sasuke-teme's attempt to kill him. '_I wonder if he knew what was happening when our attacks collided_.' He thought stiffly, unconsciously clenching his fists.

Minato groaned in frustration. The teenager wasn't giving anything up. Too many mysteries surrounded the blonde already. _'How did he know the Rasengan? How did he – a potential spy - get into the middle of Konoha, undetected? How did he create so many shadow clones_' he pondered _'The amount of chakra he expressed is unbelievable_.'

"You have a lot of explaining to do; I advise you it would be in your best interests if you started talking," Minato voiced, shifting his chair closer to the bed.

Apart from squirming slightly away from the closer figure, it seemed Naruto paid no heed to the statement the older blonde uttered. He continued to glare at the opposite wall that the men were residing besides.

"Minato just come back later." Jiraiya reasoned "He might have settled down by then. After he has I'm sure he will answer any question you give to him, won't you?" Jiraiya glanced at Naruto. "Leave him for now."

Nodding in agreement, the Yondaime rose silently to his feet. Casting one last curious look at the younger blonde he swiftly walked from the room, trailing after the perverted hermit.

Shutting the hospital door behind him, Minato glanced at the retreating back of his sensei, chewing his lip in concentration. Snapping his fingers, he was suddenly joined in the hallway by three Anbu, standing at attention. "You are to guard his room," Minato spoke firmly. "The boy is refusing to cooperate, continue to monitor his behavior." He glanced back at the closed door "Make sure he does not escape at anytime, he is still to be interrogated. I will return shortly to question him." He gestured to the room behind him, "dismissed."

Walking briskly from the hospital, Minato spied one of the Anbu standing guard outside the teenagers window. Smiling slightly, he continued along the path - he needed to find one Yamanaka Inoichi.

* * *

_'I will not be confined here like some criminal,_' Naruto vowed, pacing the room angrily. _'There's no way I can expect them to understand that I have travelled back in time, that's not even possible in my time yet_," he paused for a moment; clutching his chest, wincing at the sudden sharp pain from the still not closed wound. _'There are way too many things they won't be able to comprehend_.'

Moving to the door, Naruto quietly pried it open slightly, glancing into the hallway from the slight sliver. He growled slightly at the sight of two Anbu standing at attention in the hallway, causing one – a bird mask, to cock his head faintly in his direction.

Retreating noiselessly back into his confinement, Naruto hastened to the window, cursing softly as he spied yet another Anbu guarding outside the window. _'This is ridiculous, they are treating me like some petty criminal, and don't you say a word fox_' he thought furiously, hearing the mad laughter spluttering from the kitsune.

Naruto yawned softly, stretching his arms above his head, twitching at the continued stab of pain from his chest. What he would give to have some room to move around. The prospect of staying in this imprisonment with nothing to occupy him was very uninviting; the simple thought of it was making him drowsy. Naruto sighed in frustration, he may not want to, but knew he needed to rest to allow his body time to heal.

Walking slowly back to the inviting bed, he slipped underneath the quilt, sighing in satisfaction as the mattress melted to his body. Naruto slowly closed his eyes and welcomed the darkness that soon enveloped him.

* * *

Walking briskly down the familiar streets of Konohagakure, Minato waved pleasantly at some of the familiar townsfolk, stopping occasionally to make small talk.

Soon, Minato had arrived at his destination – the Yamanaka clan house. Walking up to the front door, he knocked and was immediately greeted by the man he sought.

"Hokage-sama," welcomed Inoichi "What brings you to this side of town today, if I may ask?"

Nodding his head in acknowledgment, Minato fixed a solemn expression on his face. "I actually came to see you, Inoichi. I trust you heard about the suspected intruder who was discovered in town a couple days ago?" Upon seeing the confirmation in his eyes, Minato continued. "He is refusing to answer any questions asked, that is why I require your help in attaining the information."

"Of course Hokage-sama, I will do all I can to assist," Inoichi voiced, closing the door behind him. "Where bout's is the boy being held now?"

"The hospital," Minato replied shortly, turning from the clan house, beginning his return trip. "We need answers and are going to get them now."

Shaking his head slightly at the uncommonly serious face on the Hokage, Inoichi hastened his step to catch up.

* * *

Striding down the hospital hallway, Minato noted with satisfaction that the Anbu guarding the room were still standing silently in the hallway. He strode up two the pair who stood at attention at the sight of him.

"Report," he commanded, fixing them both with his gaze.

"Hokage-sama," both Anbu replied, bowing before him, "the guy has shown no signs of hostility so far. He did check out his surrounding's but quickly quelled his thought's of escaping."

"Details on his behavior?" Minato inquired.

"He only seemed irritated from being confined and being guarded."

Nodding his head in satisfaction, the Yondaime proceeded to the door. Upon opening it, he was presented with the sight of the blonde teenager sleeping soundly in the bed. Silently walking further into the room with Inoichi, he came to stand at the foot of the bed. Shifting his blue orbs to the man beside him, Minato gestured with his head towards the dozing teen.

Inoichi nodded and swiftly formed the ram seal. "Shintenshin no Jutsu."

Catching his body as it fell, Minato carefully lowered Inoichi into a chair before straightening up and once again observing the blonde. "Come on, Inoichi," he muttered.

* * *

Inoichi glanced around curiously; this mind was like none that he had seen before. He appeared to be in a large sewer, tunnel's stretching before him endlessly. A deep rumble was echoing from behind him, so Inoichi proceeded towards the sound, fascinated by the difference this mind shared to any other he had encountered.

Treading swiftly through the shallow water that splashed at his feet, Inoichi rounded another corner and froze in his tracks. "What the..?" he murmured.

A huge cage stood before him, looming from the darkness. Inoichi proceeded hesitantly towards the metal bars, noting a white slip of paper on the gate. He closed the distance and peered at the sign.

"Seal?" he muttered, glancing into the depths of the cage, "sealing what?"

His answer was shortly answered as a booming laugh echoed throughout the dark room. "**_You will go no further Yamanaka; you have no permission to enter my kit's mind._**" Emerging from the seemingly black cage, a pair of red eyes bore onto the terrified blonde man.

"W-what are you?" Inoichi whispered, gazing with fright at the eyes that held such malice. "Why are you here?"

A louder chuckle echoed from the cage in answer to his words. "**_I have no reason to speak to you Yamanaka, just know you will not be going any further into the kit's thoughts, I won't allow it._**"

In answer to Inoichi's attempt at slowly backing away, eyes wide in terror, the _thing_ cackled softly as a large red cloud emerged from the cage towards him.

_'Can this really be chakra?_' Inoichi thought in amazement and horror, stumbling backwards. _'It holds such malevolence; the air is thick with it_.'

"**_My suggestion,"_** the cold voice rumbled, "**_is to let the boy go. I assure you, Konoha will regret it if you fail to listen to me._**"

Emitting a gasp as the red chakra reached him and threw him into a wall; Inoichi gritted his teeth in pain, feeling the darkness taking over.

"**_Just as a little bonus, I'll let you in on something,_**" the deep tone growled, jolting through Inoichi's head "**_He has more ties to this village than you think._**"

The red eyes faded from view as Inoichi was thrown from the teenagers mind.

* * *

Jerking upright, Inoichi gazed at the silent teenager, still sleeping peacefully on the bed. Ignoring the Yondaime's questioning look, he frantically attempted to piece together what had happened in the boy's mind. There was something unusual about the boy, that much was obvious, they only needed to figure out what.

Abruptly rising to his feet, the Yamanaka turned his eyes to the Hokage, gesturing with his head to the door. Nodding silently, the Yondaime led the way out, closing the door silently behind them.

"You found something?" Minato softly pried as they walked down the hospital hallway, their sandals slapping gently on the floor.

"H-hai, Hokage-sama," Inoichi rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "There is.. how to say this.. something.. inside of that teenager."

"What?" Minato raised his eyebrows, a look of curiosity in his eyes. "Did you have any idea what it was?"

"I'm afraid not, but I have never felt such malice in my life, whatever it is though, is dangerous.

"So he is a threat to the village?" Minato mused, pausing in the hallway to study the other blonde.

"With respect, sir, I think he might be more of a threat if kept contained," at Minato's questioning look, he continued. "The.. _thing_ practically threatened the village if his 'kit' is not released. It seemed most possessive of the boy, and judging by how it addressed the teenager, it must consider itself something of a father figure."

"So.." the Hokage slowly pieced it together, "are you saying we now have a ticking time bomb in that room?"

"Technically, yes, if he is treated in a negative light. The power emitted from that thing was incomprehensible. I fear whatever it is could easily reduce the village to shambles if provoked."

"Great, just great," Minato groaned, raising a hand to his face in defeat. "I guess we'll have to let him go, we'll just keep a very close watch on him from now on."

"I agree, sir," Inoichi nodded, "he might not be an enemy of Konoha though, the thing announced that the boy has ties to this village."

"Hmm, well, that's another thing to figure out," Minato frowned as they continued walking to the exit. '_That's more paperwork to add to the pile from this mystery._'

* * *

'_Finally!_' Naruto thought joyously, emerging from the hospital doors. He had no clue as to why he was suddenly classed as no threat, not that he was complaining. He had woken up from a nap to be informed he was free to leave after a couple days' rest – a pleasant surprise. The food they provided him was less than satisfactory – it wasn't ramen.

"Mmm Ichiraku," Naruto drooled, oblivious to the concerned looks he was receiving from passerby's. _'I never did find out if Ichiraku's was open at this time, no time like the present_' he rubbed his stomach as it protested loudly. Smiling slightly at the prospect of ramen, Naruto dazedly began jogging, too excited to wait. Zooming in on his target, Naruto rounded the final corner hiding his destination, skidding to a stop, eyes wide.

"Yes!" Naruto euphorically yelled, eyeing the Ichiraku sign that had just emerged in his line of sight. Running to the stand, he jumped in his regular chair and reveled in the smell floating through the air.

"Hey old man!" Naruto called across Teuchi's warm welcome "I'll start off with three of your finest miso ramen," he grinned, slapping his hands together in anticipation.

"Coming right up," Teuchi's called in delight, beginning to cook his meal "I haven't seen you around before, newcomer?" he paused, glancing up at Naruto.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that," Naruto smiled, "do you work here by yourself?"

Teuchi placed the ramen in front of Naruto before straightening up. "I'm considering teaching my daughter, Ayame, to run the shop when she grows up, it will be good to have some extra help around here."

Naruto nodded in agreement, beginning to slurp up his ramen with enthusiasm, to engross to notice a second customer walking in. The man paused before greeting the ramen chef "Good morning, Teuchi-san, one miso ramen please."

"Coming right up, Hokage-sama" Teuchi turned to begin cooking, missing the spluttering that emitted from Naruto's mouth from his words. "It might seem a person who enjoys miso ramen as much as you, if not more, have emerged," Teuchi pointed at Naruto's bowl's with a smile.

"Indeed," Minato agreed; glancing at the empty bowl's before raising his eyes to Naruto's, who gazed back at him curiously. "You're getting better it seems," he spoke lightly, before turning away as his order was placed in front of him, grinning appreciatively at Teuchi.

"Mm," Naruto mumbled, returning his gaze to his ramen.

"Well good, now that you're back on your feet you will be assigned to a team," the Yondaime smiled, ignoring the younger blonde's irritated look. "Report to the Hokage tower tomorrow 0900 to meet your new teammates." Getting no response from the teenager, Minato placed a sheet of paper on the table, sliding it towards the younger blonde. "Direction's to the Yamanaka clan house," he answered in response to Naruto's questioning gaze "You will be staying there for the time being, until we can find something more permanent." Getting a nod from the teenager, he turned back and finished his meal.

"Thank you, Teuchi-san" Minato voiced warmly a short time later, rising to his feet. "I dare say I'll be back later."

Turning away after Teuchi's farewell, Minato bend down until he was at Naruto's level. The teenager refused to look at him, staring fixedly at his last bowl of ramen. "I will find out why you are here," Minato spoke softly, ensuring the curious Teuchi behind them heard nothing.

The younger blonde grit his teeth, his fingers tightening around his bowl as he continued to gaze at his meal – anywhere but at the man beside him. The Yondaime sighed before making his way out of the stand onto the street. Finishing his own meal a short time later, Naruto paid up before exiting the stand with the piece of paper, time to go find the place he was to reside at.

* * *

Minato walked confidently towards the memorial stone, highly positive that his old student would be there. Upon emerging upon training ground 7, he walked briskly up to a tall figure, standing motionlessly before the memorial stone.

"Sensei," Kakashi greeted him, breaking the silence between them. "What brings you out here today?"

"I was actually coming to ask why you resigned from Anbu?" Minato laughed, scratching the back of his head. "Not that I'm complaining, the timing is perfect."

"Timing?" Kakashi's one visible eyebrow rose curiously.

"What were you planning on doing now that you left?" Minato probed.

Kakashi shrugged his shoulders slowly. "I was thinking about getting Rin to take a break on her medical ninjutsu and join back up as a team. We are more than enough to take on mission's ourselves," he paused slightly, "why do you ask, sensei?"

Minato laughed softly. "I was actually going to ask you if you wanted to regroup with Rin. I have found another person to join the team." Minato noted Kakashi's slight tension "Don't worry Kakashi, I doubt he will last long," he smiled reassuringly.

"Yes Sensei," Kakashi nodded, "when do we meet him?"

"Tomorrow morning, my office, I'll go inform Rin soon" Minato paused, looking pensive.

"Sensei?" Kakashi studied his former teacher, "is something wrong?"

"No, not really," Minato replied, "There is something unusual about him though."

"Him?"

"Your new team member, I can't figure out his intentions."

Kakashi paused faintly, "he was the one found the other day?"

"Mm," Minato paused "I have no idea as to where he came from. Yamanaka Inoichi states there is something truly unique inside of him, he has also displayed an inhumane amount of chakra."

Kakashi nodded, satisfied with the answer as his sensei began to walk away, still deep in thought.

"Kakashi"

He focused on his teacher, who had turned back to him. "Sensei?"

Minato hesitated, before fixing Kakashi with a steely gaze "Your main mission from now is to keep an eye on him," he commanded before turning and walking away.

After once again nodding at his sensei's retreating back, Kakashi frowned at the aspect of a new teammate, before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

* * *

In this story I can confidently say the ages will be off to the cannon. According to Naruto Wikipedia, Rin, Obito and Kakashi were all 13 during Kakashi Gaiden. It also states that Kakashi was 14-15 when the Kyuubi attacked. I am changing their ages to 18 in this story so they match Naruto's age. In this story, the Kyuubi will most probably debut his attack when they are all 20. Other characters will be the age they were supposed to be.

Reviews are very much appreciated, thank you.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: **Don't own, don't sue.

**Summary:** After an encounter with an old friend, Naruto accidentally travels back in time. Why is the Yondaime still alive and just who is after him now? Is there any way to get back to the present? Minato Namikaze, alive.

* * *

**Two Blondes, One Time Era**

Chapter Four

Updated: 2-23-10

* * *

Naruto yawned widely, glancing around in confusion at the unfamiliar room he was residing in. Finally, his brain kicked in to gear, remembering his order to reside at the Yamanaka household whilst in Konoha. He frowned slightly, recalling the clan head, Inoichi, who appeared weary of him. He had not met the man in this time frame until last night, so he pondered why the Yamanaka seemed uneasy in his presence. Shrugging his thoughts off, Naruto began untangling himself from his bed sheet, stifling another yawn.

"Oww," Naruto groaned from the floor, continuing to struggle on escaping the clutches of the persistent bed sheet, to no avail. Finally removing himself from the blanket and swearing revenge at a later date, Naruto staggered out the bedroom door, rubbing his backside as he ambled down the hall.

Emerging into the bright kitchen, he spied Inoichi seated in one of the chairs around the table. The man failed to notice his entry, absentmindedly swirling a spoon through a mug of coffee whilst he read the paper.

"Good morning, Inoichi-san" Naruto proclaimed a tad hesitantly, unsure of how the man will react to him. He was certainly not expecting the man to look up warmly, smiling at the teenager in front of him.

"Oh, good morning.. um..?"

"Naruto," he smiled back, instantly remembering he had failed to mention his name yet, even to the Yondaime or Ero-sennin. He chuckled to himself.

"Well good morning then, Naruto-san," Inoichi gave him a small grin, "anything for breakfast?"

Naruto grinned to himself. How had he thought this man was suspicious of him? The clan head was treating him as if it was a regular day of living with the Yamanaka's, as though he had done so his whole life. The man wasn't treating him as if he was suspicious or hiding anything from him, he was treating him in a complete positive light.

"Hmm," he mused, glancing around at the cupboards stocked with food, "you don't happen to have any instant ramen?"

The blonde man pursed his lip, "wouldn't you want something a little more… healthy in the morning?" he questioned, a thoughtful look on his face. "But to answer your question I would have to say no, haven't had ramen in quite a while, sorry."

"Argh, you act just like sensei, he is constantly pestering me to eat healthy food," Naruto smiled fondly at the memory, moving towards the door. "Don't worry old man, I'll just stop at good ol' Ichiraku's before going to see the Hokage" he waved in farewell.

'_Sensei.._' Inoichi wondered "sensei?" he questioned quickly, "Who is your sensei?" he asked, glancing up hastily, noting with disappointment the boy had already left. "Oh well," he murmured to himself, "there is always later."

* * *

"Ahhh," Naruto groaned in satisfaction, patting his stomach as he slowly walked away from the ramen stand, Teuchi shouting a particularly enthusiastic goodbye behind him.

He glanced around in unease, momentarily forgetting he was not in his time. _'It's unusual,_' he mused, noting the lack of hateful eyes on him. True, some civilians and shinobi alike were gazing at him, although none held signs of hostility, only curiosity. He even received a few smiles from a couple of kunoichi he passed, the girls looking him up and down, a slight pink tinge visible in their cheeks.

'_This situation might not be as bad as I had originally thought,_' Naruto smiled at the passing girls who giggled in delight at the sight of his foxy grin. He tore his eyes from the large increasing amount of distractions and looked towards the Hokage tower. He realized he had only a few minutes to get there. Releasing another wide smile, Naruto bounded onto the nearest rooftop and began to make his way towards the large building.

"Record time!" Naruto crowed, leaping off the final roof to land in front of the entrance door to the tower. Eagerly walking through the entrance and up the stairs, he was greeted by the secretary who was stationed behind a desk in the hallway.

"Hello," she smiled warmly at him, brushing a strand of her long black hair out of her eyes, "here to see the Hokage?"

Seeing Naruto's affirmative nod, the woman smiled further, gesturing with her hand. "Go right on in, he is expecting you."

"Thank-you," Naruto murmured, still unnerved by the courtesy he was receiving, moving towards the door hesitantly.

Knocking firmly on the door and hearing a cheery voice calling to enter, Naruto shuffled into the room, glancing around at the familiar room. His eyes settled on the desk where Tsunade-baa-chan usually sat, where the Yondaime was now stationed.

"Good morning," the blonde man greeted politely, giving Naruto a small smile.

After Naruto's mumbled reply the Hokage continued. "Now today you're going to be joining a team for missions. The team I am placing you on is one of Konoha's most efficient so consider yourself lucky; many would kill to be partnered with two of this village's most talented shinobi." He hesitated slightly, adverting his eyes out the window, '_I really hope you aren't a spy, this team could benefit with you on it,_' he thought.

Naruto was incredibly intrigued now; be was being placed on one of the best teams, him? He ginned at the man who was now looking pensive "Well..?" he paused, "when do I get to meet them?"

The Yondaime relaxed slightly, seeing Naruto's enthusiasm. He quirked an eyebrow, "come in" he called, raising his voice faintly. Immediately after the call had left his lips, the door opened, admitting two teenagers who promptly entered the room.

Naruto turned around to the view the pair standing before him. His eyes fell on the one closest to him – a woman. Naruto studied the kunoichi, who smiled brightly at him. She had light brown hair which framed around her face, falling short of her shoulders. Her resemblance to Sakura was almost striking. A pair of markings on her face – one on each cheek, drew his attention. _'Is she an Inuzuka?_' Naruto pondered, staring at the purple markings. They didn't look like Kiba's, but maybe they had changed the markings in Naruto's time.

Noticing his gaze, the Yondaime spoke up. "Ah, that's Inuzuka Rin," confirming Naruto's suspicion's. "She is a Jonin and medic nin of the team. Your other teammate is Hatake Kakashi," he pointed to the second entree.

'_Kakashi-sensei!_' Naruto thought wildly, abruptly shifting his gaze to the second figure for the first time. The silver-haired boy was standing motionlessly to the side of the room, viewing the others with slight amusement. _'Geez he looks practically the same,_' Naruto thought, looking at the teenager in surprise. His sensei had looked immensely lethal when clad in his Anbu gear, _'attacking me I might add,_' Naruto thought wirily. He was already wearing his face mask over his lower half, hitai-ate stationed over one eye. _'He must already have the sharingan,_' Naruto mused, gazing in awe at the younger Kakashi who shifted slightly under his gaze. He beamed at his younger sensei whose eye rose up in the familiar u – indicating he was smiling.

"Yo," Kakashi smiled, "I'm sorry about the misunderstanding the other day, Sensei tells me you weren't very... cooperative in the hospital. You must have been pretty desperate to leave to start missions." He gave an eye smile again, "hopefully you become a great team member, ne?"

"Sensei?" Naruto questioned, gazing at him in confusion before remembering, turning to look at the Yondaime, "you told them?" he fumed in embarrassment

The Yondaime had his head turned towards the window, seemingly oblivious to their conversation although Naruto could see the wide grin stretched across his face.

Shaking his head darkly, muttering about big-mouths, Naruto turned back to his new teammates. "Um, Kakashi-se... Kakashi, what rank are you?"

"I am currently a Jonin, the same as Rin," Kakashi answered cheerfully. "As you saw I was an Anbu, Anbu captain to be precise, until recently when I left. I wanted to so some more missions with Rin; we hadn't seen each other in a while." He paused, looking at Naruto with a curious eye, "would we be able to know a bit about you?" he grinned. "It may not seem like it but the only thing we really know is your fighting style, we don't even know your name."

"Oh yeah, I forgot," Naruto laughed, scratching the back of his head, the three other's sweat-dropping. "The name's Naruto and I am at Jonin status," he paused, reflecting on his Jonin test a year ago, dodging Anko's snakes among the memories. "My friends are my fuel to keep driving on in life; I will do anything for them," he turned his eyes to Rin, "how about you?"

"Well," Rin smiled, "like sensei and Kakashi have said, my name is Rin and I am a Jonin. I specialize in medical ninjutsu, it is my passion. I must admit though that I never would have taken it on if a pup had bonded with me," she nodded at the confusion in Naruto's eyes, "none of the clan dog's accepted me." She grimaced, "I then vowed to become efficient in medical ninjutsu and made my family proud of my skill."

"Well now that we have the pleasantries out of the way, let's get down to business," Minato interjected, looking at Naruto with a slight hint of curiosity. _'How does he claim to have the rank of Jonin_,' he wondered. _'I'll admit he has the ability, heck he has even more, but only a kage has the authority to announce the rank of Jonin,_' he hesitated slightly. '_That also doesn't explain the Konoha hit-ate found on his person, he has never been a Jonin in Konoha.'_

Clearing his throat, Minato gazed at the three teenagers before him. "Team Kakashi will commence missions starting tomorrow," he began, ignoring the look of nostalgia on Naruto's face. "I know all three of you are skilled Jonin, so I will be starting you tomorrow on an A ranked mission," he spoke lightly, riffling through his desk draws through a bunch of scrolls.

"Aha, here we are," he smiled, drawing fourth a large scroll and unrolling it. "Your mission is to escort the Kazekage's wife, Karura, and child back to Sunagakure. Ninja's may use this as an excuse to attack them to gain a hold over Suna but I'm doubtful of this unless someone intends to start a war," he laughed "I know you three will be more than capable for the job so I'm not concerned about enemy ninja," grinning at the trio's nods of approval he continued. "You are to meet her tomorrow morning, 0600 hours at the south gate, dismissed."

As team Kakashi turned and made to move from the room, Minato's voice called over their heads, "oh before I forget, a word, Naruto?"

Pausing, Naruto allowed Kakashi and Rin to exit the room before slowly turning around to face the Yondaime. "Yes?" Naruto questioned, eyeing the Yondaime with interest, who sighed.

"I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions," Minato requested, gesturing to the seat in front of his desk, "just to figure out a bit more about you?"

Naruto frowned slightly; surely it wouldn't hurt to tell explain a bit. His small pause did not go unnoticed as he moved forward and settled himself in the chair, nodding at the Yondaime to continue.

"Let's see now," Minato laughed softly. "There are many things that don't add up around you, as I'm sure you're aware," he paused, shooting a look at Naruto who nodded again in affirmation. "We'll start off with simple one. How did you learn the Kage Bunshin? That is a forbidden technique, very few have the ability to utilize it properly, let alone the vast amount of clones you created."

'_Kit,_' a small voice cracked into life in his mind, '_tell him the truth to the questions he asks_. _This could be so amusing when he doesn't understand," _the large fox cackled.

"Ahem," Naruto laughed nervously, "I kind of stole the Scroll of Seals after I failed the Genin exam for the third time. One of my teachers, Mizuki-teme, told me if I learned even one technique from the scroll I would be allowed to pass. I was quite... foolish back then," he rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment."

Minato nodded in understanding, subconsciously thinking of the teacher Naruto had mentioned. As far as he could think back, there had never been an Academy teacher by the name of Mizuki. There was a boy in the village by that name, but the kid was a mere twelve-year-old, soon to become a Genin. _'No, surely he is referring to someone else,_' he pondered.

"Alright," he paused, thinking about whether to ask his next question. He smiled reassuringly at Naruto. "I must admit I was very surprised when you used Rasengan, might I ask how you learnt it?" he leaned in slightly.

"Ero-sennin," Naruto answered promptly, forgetting his place. Chiding himself, he reminded himself that there was no way around this question. _'Considering only Ero-sennin and the Yondaime himself know the Rasengan at this time, it would be impractical to lie,_' he grinned softly at his foolishness.

"Ero-sennin?" the Yondaime mused, clicking his tongue, processing the name. His eyes lighting up he exclaimed, "You mean Jiraiya-sensei?" Seeing Naruto's nod of confirmation he roared with laughter, "So fitting! He sure does enjoy peeping on the ladies in the spas," he grinned, "when did he teach the Rasengan to you?"

"Um, around six years ago now," Naruto paused in thought, "only took me a month to fully master It," he raised his head slightly, proud of his achievement.

Minato openly gaped at him. "A month!" he exclaimed. "A month?" he composed himself slightly. "That accomplishment is most certainly admirable, with your seemingly fast ability to learn jutsu; you must have a wide range of techniques already under your belt," he smiled, rising to his feet, indicating their talk was at an end. "Maybe you can show me some one day? I will need to see some soon in any case, just to assess your abilities of a Jonin."

Naruto grinned back, jumping to his feet enthusiastically. "That sounds great; I might even show you one of my own creations, the Rasenshuriken," he continued after seeing the Yondaime's curious face. "I should tell you about it since it involves your technique. I created it by adding my wind element to the Rasengan."

The Yondaime stared at him in amazement, "what, amazing!" he voiced, "I was never able to accomplish that, I'm immensely impressed. I can see you're going to be a great assistance to team Kakashi," he gestured to the door. "Go rest up for the day before your mission, I'll see you at the south gate in the morning."

Nodding in agreement, Naruto waved in farewell before exiting the room, proceeding back down the steps and out onto the streets.

Watching Naruto's retreating back, the Yondaime had a thoughtful look on his face. "Hmm, need to question Jiraiya-sensei about him teaching the Rasengan. He did say though that he didn't teach it to the boy," he muttered, "something's not quite right." He pulled himself from his thoughts, eyeing with disdain the paperwork on his desk. "Back to work I guess" he sighed, settling himself comfortably into his chair.

"Hmm, what to do?" Naruto murmured to himself, glancing around for something to catch his eye in the middle of the street. Ignorant of his surrounding's, Naruto was completely oblivious to the increasingly amount of girls attempting to catch _his _eye.

"Eh, nothing good around here," he sighed aloud, bounding off to the Yamanaka's, leaving more than a few heartbroken girls behind.

* * *

"Yes! A new mission with a new team" Naruto rejoiced, racing away from the Yamanaka's or more accurately – Yamanaka Inoichi, as fast as he could. His second morning at the foreign house had been just like the first, awkward buy friendly. He was still struggling to come to terms with the politeness of everyone he had interacted with. _'That will change if they find out,_' he deliberated. _'Note to self, don't inform anyone about the moody, fur ball'_

A deep voice grumbled in greeting in the back of his mind **_'I resemble that remark kit, don't you forget it._**'

Scoffing in disbelief, Naruto picked up his pace, ignoring the fox's stream of morning ramblings about the amazing, almighty Kyuubi.

Finally arriving at the gate, Naruto noticed in embarrassment he was the last to arrive. He had been delayed by Inoichi, the man had bustled about the kitchen, offering him many different foods, some he hadn't even heard of. The man had thought he looked underfed, insisting ramen was not the way to go for proper body development. His concern had truly frightened Naruto, but touched him nonetheless.

"Nice of you to join us, Naruto," Kakashi spoke solemnly, although his eye smile showed he was joking.

"Yes, yes, now you can get started," Minato called to the pair, motioning them over to him. He was standing with a young attractive woman, who was in question clutching a bundle in her arms. Upon closer inspection Naruto realized it was a child, who rolled over as if feeling the eyes gazing upon her.

"This is Temari," Karura smiled, shifting the small child in her arms into a sitting position, who stared at the group with bright green eyes. Naruto jumped slightly in shock at the name, before turning his eyes back upon Temari, who stretched out a tiny hand to him.

"Aww, she seems to like you," her mother cooed, closing the distance between them, watching Naruto reach out his hand, allowing Temari to wrap her tiny digits around his.

Minato laughed slightly, noticing Kakashi and Rin who were gazing at Naruto, bemused. "Now now, let's not get carried away, you can all fawn over the child on the way," he grinned. "For now you need to be on your way, it's a three day's journey to Suna, you best get some good ground in on the first day."

Nodding his head in agreement, Kakashi spoke up, "to Suna," he eye smiled at Rin.

Face flushed slightly, Rin turned her face away from her teammate, "Suna," she confirmed.

Gently prying his hand out of Temari's grip, Naruto smiled at the child before turning his eyes towards the gate. "Land of wind, here we come."

* * *

Reviews are very much appreciated, thank you.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: **Don't own, don't sue.

**Summary:** After an encounter with an old friend, Naruto accidentally travels back in time. Why is the Yondaime still alive and just who is after him now? Is there any way to get back to the present? Minato Namikaze, alive.

* * *

Two Blondes, One Time Era

Chapter Five

Updated: 2-23-10

* * *

Naruto sighed in boredom, leaping through the canopy treetops. Team Kakashi had been traveling for the better part of the whole day, only stopping for a couple short breaks in-between. Small talk had started the journey, slowly fading away into silence; the only sounds of comfort were the wildlife. Naruto was fast growing tiresome of the lack of words uttered; he was too pumped up to stay quiet forever. "Ehh this is boring. I was expecting at least some form of excitement," he grumbled, his voice seemingly magnified in the calm forest.

"Now now, Naruto, we aren't there yet," Rin consoled, brushing a strand of her brown hair from her eyes. "Besides, we should be hoping for a peaceful journey to Suna, we have to protect the client remember?" she frowned slightly.

Naruto shot a look at Karura, bounding beside them with Temari still wrapped in her arms. Feeling his gaze, she turned towards him. "Normally I would agree with you, Naruto," she smiled. "But I don't want Temari within range if there is a fight, I'm sure you can understand."

Nodding his head, Naruto increased his pace slightly; attempting to catch up to Kakashi who was leading the group, slashing at tree branches in their way.

"Ey, Kakashi," Naruto moved closer, slashing a vine from his face. "How far have we traveled yet?"

"We're about a third of the way," Kakashi gazed back at him. "We might be able to make it to the edge of the board by the end of the day, if we pick it up a notch."

Smiling in approval, Naruto turned back to the others. "Did you guys hear what Kakashi just said?" Nodding at his words, Rin and Karura increased their speed, closing the distance between them.

"Kakashi," Rin's voice carried ahead. "Do you think it will be wise to camp right on the border? That might place us at a greater risk of being attacked by enemy shinobi."

"Hmm," Kakashi paused "You might be right; we'll camp in slightly away from the boarder." He glanced up at the slowly receding sun, "it will take us another couple hours to get there at this pace. We should make it before dark." He turned and eye smiled at Karura, who looked reassured.

"Damn, I could still use a good fight," Naruto grumbled, but nether less followed after Kakashi.

* * *

"This will be fine," Kakashi jumped down from the trees, landing in a clearing. "Not too far from the border, not to close either," he nodded, satisfied.

Naruto silently agreed, leaping down beside the former Anbu captain. Shrugging off his backpack, he began riffling through it, pulling a couple scrolls from within. Biting his thumb and running his blood over the scrolls, Naruto pulled fourth a couple of tents and rations.

"Best not cook anything tonight," Kakashi rubbed his chin in thought. "If we start a fire the smoke could give away our position. We'll settle for the granola bars," he gestured to the pile besides Naruto. "It would be best to be as inconspicuous as possible."

The rest agreed, grouping around to grab the offered meal, settling down on surrounding logs, aside from Naruto, who plunked straight down onto the grass.

Karura smiled as she lowered herself onto her log, placing Temari gently on the ground who promptly went back to studying Naruto with her big green eyes.

"Karura-sama," Naruto spoke, watching the child who gurgled happily at his voice. "How old is Temari?"

Smiling at the question, Karura reached out a hand and ran it gently through the fair blonde hair on the child. "She's two years old, her birthday was only a bit more than a week ago, August 23rd," she gazed down adoringly at the infant, before turning her eyes to Naruto. "And please, call me Karura, I won't take any of that sama business," she laughed.

Temari gazed around adorably at the attention she was receiving; her eyes crinkling as she gave the group a wide grin, proudly showing off her small baby teeth.

Naruto rose to his feet, closing the distance between himself and Temari, crouching down to the child on the ground, who stretched out her tiny hands towards him. He stretched out his own hands, placing them gently under the child's before raising her into his arms. Naruto gazed fondly at the small child before turning back to Karura, ignoring that the child had swiftly begun to pull on locks of his hair.

Temari's mother had an unusual expression on her face. Naruto shifted uncomfortably, positive that Karura was sizing up the 'cute' picture before her. Naruto shuddered – he had to be badass, not some sap that cuddled and fawned over adorable children.

Turning at the sound of a deep voice distracting them, Naruto, Karura and Temari's eyes fell upon Kakashi, who was shaking with laughter behind them.

"Sorry," he chuckled; clutching his side. "I just didn't know you were the 'family man', Naruto," he straightened up and gave Naruto and eye smile.

Growling at Kakashi's antic's, Naruto ignored the fox's chants to castrate his former sensei, instead settling for simply turning his back on him with a firm "hmph."

Settling his eyes on Karura once again, Naruto noticed the woman was again gazing at Temari in his arms.

"I hope she grows up to be a strong kunoichi," she smiled. "I want her to follow in her father's footsteps."

Naruto paused, looking down at infant, reflecting on his memories of Temari, he wasn't worried. "Don't fret," Naruto moved over to the mother, holding out the child for her to take. "I know she will be a great fighter," he grinned. "Every kunoichi will be envious of her skill."

"You really think so?" Karura beamed up at him. "My husband is anxious for her to be a powerful warrior," she suddenly lowered her eyes, looking solemn

"What is it?" Naruto probed, noticing the change of mood. "Karura, what's wrong?"

"The Daimyo has begun to cut down Suna's budget," Karura voiced softly. "My husband, the Kazekage, has said Suna is in danger of becoming an easy target," she sighed. "Because of this, he has said the only way to recuperate is to increase the qualities of the ninja in our village." She raised her eyes back up to Naruto's. "I fear he wants to mold Temari into the perfect warrior, I will not allow that to happen though." She begun to comb her fingers through Temari's hair again, "my children come before his plans" she spoke in a slightly raised voice.

Naruto looked on in sympathy "Karura," he spoke firmly, gaining get attention. "I'm certain she will grow up to make you proud," he voiced confidently, gazing fondly down at Temari.

Karura laughed in embarrassment. "Yes, you're right, sorry. I was just getting carried away," she smiled apologetically.

Naruto waved it off, "nothing to apologize for," he said casually, taking a seat on the log next to her. "You're just being a concerned parent, that's not a bad thing."

"Thanks a lot," Karura laughed, again embarrassed yet silently pleased, finishing her granola bar in the silence that followed.

"Hey, you guys," Rin called across the clearing, halting the conversation between herself and Kakashi. "When did you want to settle down for the night?"

"'Anytime," Naruto called back, rising to his feet, brushing his hands off on his pants. "The sooner we sleep, the sooner we can start up again tomorrow."

"Hmm," Kakashi decided now was the time to put in his two cents. "I would suggest we get an early night. We should begin moving forward again at dawn."

"Agreed," Rin smiled, standing up and proceeding towards the two tents. "I'm going to be with Karura and Temari in one tent," She voiced aloud, separating the two tents from each other. "And you two can be in the other," she looked pointedly at the two males.

"Mm alright," Naruto and Kakashi moved forward, relieving one of the tents from Rin and beginning to put it up.

Yawning slightly, Karura rose to her feet, gathering Temari in her arms, proceeding over to Rin. The two women conversed briefly before turned back to Naruto and Kakashi.

"Goodnight you guys," Rin smiled, turning towards the welcoming tent, "see you in the morning."

"Night," the two males called after the retreating pair, once Karura gave them a smile before proceeding to bed.

"There," Kakashi stepped back with a flourish to admire his handiwork. "Not bad eh?"

"Mm," Naruto glanced warily around to the surrounding trees before stumbling gratefully into the opening, falling on the bare floor and allowing sleep to envelop him.

* * *

Minato scowled slightly to himself in his empty office, looking in disdain at the amount of paperwork piled in front of him. Konohagakure was still runback with work to complete from the Iwa war. He sighed, scratching the back of his head in wariness. He had enough on his plate as it was, let alone the extra paperwork he had just received from the mission of escorting the Kazekage's wife.

Sunagakure was still wary from the retreating war, abruptly sending their own shinobi to escort Karura home, the Suna Jonin arriving in his office mere hours ago.

_'This is so frustrating,'_ the Yondaime groaned, massaging his temples. The four-man squad had been disgruntled that the wife was already traveling home as they spoke. '_The Kazekage could have notified me that an escort team was on the way,'_ he frowned. '_He was the one to suggest a party from Konoha in the first place.'_

Minato glanced at the clock in the room, noting with slight surprise the lateness of the hour – he had wanted to catch up with Jiraiya-sensei sometime today. '_Can't be helped,' _he inwardly thought, beginning to pile up his already completed work, thoughts drifting to the Suna nin.

He had graciously offered them a free stay in Konoha for the night, apologizing for the situation they were placed in. The squad had grudgingly agreed, planning to leave first thing in the morning, hoping to catch up to Team Kakashi.

_'May as well attempt to find sensei,'_ the Yondaime mused, rising to his feet with a small yawn and stretching. '_Knowing him, he's probably at the bar,'_ he grinned, grabbing his coat and proceeding from the room.

Strolling leisurely down the streets of Konoha, his village, the Yondaime felt completely at peace. '_It's a nice night out,'_ he thought in content, glancing up at the star-filled sky. Smiling at the people littering the streets who greeted him, he ventured towards the brightly-lit pub in the distance.

Walking through the entrance into the bar, Minato raised his hands to block the piercing light as he allowed his eyes to adjust. Nodding at a couple near the door who respectfully welcomed his presence, Minato raised his eyes and scanned the nearest groups of people, hoping to see his sensei's mop of long white hair. Failing to see any sign of the toad sage, Minato proceeded further in from the door, heading for the benches at the back of the bar.

Upon his arrival, Minato instantly laid eyes on his former sensei, downing a saucer of sake. Hastening over to the man, the Yondaime slid into the bloody opposite of Jiraiya, waiting patiently for the man to finish his drink. Smiling in greeting, Jiraiya lowered the empty saucer from his lips and began to refill.

"What brings you here, Minato?" Jiraiya questioned, raising his drink to have another sip. "Lady problems?" he gave a lecherous grin.

"I just wanted to confirm something with you," Minato reached for the sake bottle, giving it a gentle shake to gauge how much was left. "No lady problems either," he raised an eyebrow. "Not that you could help even if I did," he smirked, his azure eyes twinkling, amused.

"Pft, you don't have any trouble getting the ladies, that's for sure," Jiraiya snorted. "Kushina seems particularly smitten with you. Although, I don't think you're helping matters by continually showering her with flowers," he chuckled.

"Hmm," Minato smiled, turning away from his former sensei, a faint pink tinge on his cheeks. "Why don't you settle down sometime, sensei? It might stop you from going on about my relationship status."

"Hah," snorted Jiraiya, standing up proudly. "The great Toad Sage, Jiraiya, will never be able to simply settle down! Too many poor ladies would be heartbroken if I only chose one," he grinned widely at a bemused Minato.

"I'm sure that's the case sensei," Minato shook his head in amusement. "I really do need to talk to you though," he looked around the busy bar. "Maybe somewhere a little quieter," he glanced at the sake bottle, "you finished here?"

Standing up abruptly and downing the rest of the bottle, Jiraiya proceeded to squeeze his way from the booth.

"Am now," he began heading for the exit, Yondaime following closely behind.

Emerging out onto the street, Jiraiya made his way down to a secluded section, moving away from the groups gathered out and around the thriving bar.

"Alright, what's this about," Jiraiya turned curiously to the Yondaime, leaning up against the wall of a building.

"You didn't teach Naruto the Rasengan did you?" With hard eyes, Minato crossed his arms, waiting for Jiraiya to confirm his suspicions.

Shaking his head, Jiraiya suddenly looked astonished. "Naruto? That's the new guy's name?" Jiraiya's eyes widened slightly. "He's named after the character in my book!"

"I was a little stocked as well," Minato confessed, swatting a mosquito on his arm. "It's not like it's a very common name, ey?"

"I'll say, I mean... it's a ramen topping," Jiraiya laughed, scratching his head.

"A nice name though," Minato smiled faintly. "Hmm, at least I know for sure you didn't teach him that technique."

The sennin looked a little confused, "he actually proclaimed that I taught it to him?" Glancing at the blonde man who nodded in affirmation, he frowned slightly. "Hmm, how did he learn it then?" he pondered. "It's not like you can learn the Rasengan by yourself, he would have needed guidance." His eyebrow furrowed, "and we're the only two that know it... that's a tad weird and unnerving. I mean.. he still looks to be in his teens."

"He didn't seem to be lying though," Minato looked thoughtful. "He babbled it out like he wasn't thinking; it didn't appear as if he had a memorized speech ready."

"We'll figure it out, hell we'll just keep asking him, he's bound to let it slip somehow," Jiraiya sounded pleased with his proclaim.

Nodding in agreement, the Yondaime pushed himself off the wall he was resting against, straightening his coat. "He's currently on a mission, should be back in a couple days," he paused, glancing up at his former sensei. "We'll soon find out how he knows so much" he proclaimed firmly.

* * *

Listening to the soft sounds of the wildlife surrounding them, Naruto smiled to himself as he rose to his feet – business calling. He always enjoyed the sounds of nature, it was comforting. Stepping out from the tent, Naruto smiled up at the sky, slowly becoming visible as it began its daily journey through the sky. '_May as well wake the others shortly, it's nearly time to go,'_ Naruto thought, looking around for a nearby group of trees.

Padding barefoot, cringing slightly at the cold grass, he made his way out of the immediate campsite, locating behind a bunch of shrubs. After emptying his bladder, Naruto turned and began to make his way back to the tents, slightly surprised to find Kakashi already up and on a nearby log – rubbing his hands together for warmth.

"Morning, Kakashi," Naruto greeted, stifling a yawn as he made his way over to the tent and grabbing his bag.

"Yo, Naruto" Kakashi gave an eye smile, watching as Naruto sunk down onto the same log and began rummaging in his bag.

"Breakfast!" Naruto proclaimed joyously, throwing a granola bar to Kakashi, already munching on his own.

"Thank you" Kakashi responded, slowly unwrapping his own and taking a small bite. Silence followed the pair sitting in the clearing as they both settled down to finish their meal.

Naruto glanced around whilst he chewed, listening to the calming sounds that surrounded them. Birds whistling, crickets chirping, branches snapping...wait, what?

Kakashi, reacting swiftly with professionalism and his experience with Anbu, had already figured what was happening and swiftly lunged off the log and flew towards Naruto. Plowing into the shocked blonde, Kakashi and Naruto flew to the ground, narrowly missing a flurry of shuriken that flew over their heads.

"Get the others to safety!" Kakashi yelled, wheeling in the direction the weapons were projected from, ripping his hitai-ate above his eye – sharingan revealed.

"Got it!" Naruto shouted, moving towards the tents, ducking under more shuriken's that were aimed at him.

Frantically sweeping aside the tarp, Naruto barely avoided being trampled as a fully dressed Rin launched into the open, kunai clutched tightly in her hands.

"Kakashi!" she yelled, "how many?"

Hitai-ate already pulled up and sharingan eye spinning madly, Kakashi flashed through a series of hand seals, proceeding to grab his wrist. "Four," he spat out over the loud chirping that echoed through the clearing.

A voice called out mockingly from the surrounding trees, "give up, you're out of your depth," the unknown speaker laughed.

Kakashi snarled in response, shooting forward with incredible speed, flying towards the unseen speaker.

A low curse rung through the air, the opposing nin jumped down from the tree he was residing in. As the enemy shinobi leapt down to meet them, Naruto caught a flash of the man's hitai-ate in the early morning sun – Iwagakure.

"Doton-" the man yelled frantically, slamming his hands onto the ground.

"Chidori!" Kakashi bellowed, seemingly appearing right before the man's eyes, attack at the ready.

The Iwa nin gasped, throwing himself towards the ground – desperate to avoid the deadly blow.

Swiftly throwing out his arm, Kakashi's speed far exceeded that of the Iwa ninja, slamming his chidori accurately into the man's chest, a satisfied look on his face.

Emitting one choked up scream of pain through the blood residing in his mouth, the man's body went limp, falling forward towards Kakashi who promptly sidestepped the dead weight.

"You..bastard!" another furious Iwa nin yelled, appearing behind Team Kakashi, desperately throwing a flurry of kunai at their exposed backs.

"Down!" Naruto shouted, jumping towards the frightened Karura who had appeared from the tent entrance, pulling her safely to the ground.

A low chuckle echoed through the clearing as Naruto raised his head from the ground, glaring at the enemy nin, his remaining partners now beside him.

"Give it up, and your death may be painless, maybe" the same shinobi laughed, goading the enraged Naruto. His two companions remained silent, studying Kakashi and Rin who were rising to their feet. A couple kunai had embedded into Rin's shoulder. The medic nin was wincing slightly as she pulled out the offending objects before beginning to heal her injures, Kakashi standing guard.

"You'll pay!" Naruto growled, pushing himself out of the dirt and to his feet, placing himself between the attackers and Karura and Temari.

The opposing man laughed again. "Ohh look, the squirt's got a bit of a fight in him," he smirked. "However, he lacks the experience we have," his grin extended.

"I can change his attitude," the Iwa nin's smile slipped from his face into determination as he suddenly shot towards Naruto like a bullet, leaving his partners behind.

As the leader advanced towards Naruto, his partners flew into action, jumping down from the trees and rushing towards Kakashi and a now healed Rin.

Rubbing his hands together in anticipation, Kakashi cheerfully turned towards his female teammate. "I'll take care of these ones, Rin, guard Karura, okay?"

Nodding in agreement, Rin wheeled around, dashing back towards the Kazekage's wife. Skidding to a stop in front of the still shocked woman, Rin gave her a reassuring smile as she raised her Kunai defensively. "Don't worry," she murmured comfortingly, scanning the area for the enemy nin's. She was reassured as she saw them both leaping after Kakashi, the cyclops Jonin taking them on a detour away from their charge. The other was continuing to lay blows towards Naruto, becoming more furious with each passing moment as the blonde continued to evade them.

Giving a sigh of relief, Rin glanced back at Karura before motioning with her head towards the surrounding trees. Giving a nod in understanding, the woman quickly made her way out of the clearing, Rin shadowing her movements. "We'll just wait here until it's over," Rin softly whispered to Karura, turning back to watch Naruto's fight. Karura smiled tightly, eyes wide with worry, disregarding Temari happily tugging on her hair as she glanced over at the blonde ducking around the enemy's attacks.

Eyes flashing angrily as he dodged another swipe to his head, Naruto placed his hands in a familiar hand seal. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" he cried, suddenly accompanied by two exact replicas of himself. Without prompting, one of his clones dove forward, attracting the enemy nin's attention by whipping a series of kunai towards him.

As the clone created a distraction, Naruto flew into action. Holding out his hand, his remaining clone began to channel chakra onto his hand, a familiar blue orb soon forming. Sprinting forward, Naruto ignored Rin's yell of warning, closing the distance between his clone and the Iwa shinobi he was clashing with.

"Are you serious? Sending another clone to fight? Pathetic!" the nin sneered, eyeing Naruto as he came within striking distance. Finally glancing down at the swirling orb situated on Naruto's hand, the man's eyes widened as he realized the danger approaching. "Shit!" he yelled, diving clear of the approaching attack as Naruto extended his hand towards the surprised enemy.

As the man rolled out of the way, he quickly fumbled through his pouch, grabbing a kunai in each hand. Dragging the weapons into the hard earth to halt his momentum, the Iwa shinobi jumped to his feet. Shock was barely able to cross his face as Naruto jumped in again, clashing weapons with the man, both fighting for dominance.

"Heh," the man ground out, panting heavily. "You're actually giving me a good fight, almost a shame this is your last," he grinned cockily.

"Don't be too sure of that," Naruto laughed slightly before disappearing in a puff of smoke, leaving the bewildered Iwa standing alone, vulnerable.

"Kage Bunshin?" the man questioned, looking around frantically, feeding dread setting in. His head swiveling around, the shinobi hardly had time to react as he finally heard the blonde Konoha nin shout aloud from right behind him.

"Rasengan!" Naruto yelled, thrusting his arm forward, grinding his attack into the enemy's mid-section. He held his attack into the man's stomach for a few seconds longer, before the man shot backwards from him, slamming into a distant tree.

Sighing heavily, Naruto made his way over to the defeated man who was barely conscious, gurgling blood as he gasped for air. Naruto crouched down to study the man, who viewed him in shock, terror etched on his beaten and bloody face.

"How?" The leader gasped with his last strength, eyelids finally falling closed. Naruto slowly stood back up with a weary sigh as he observed the defeated Iwa nin, the man failing to pull off the peaceful look in death.

Slow rustling sounds drew Naruto from his thoughts, jumping slightly as he turned to Rin and Karura, the pair emerging from the trees. "Good job, Naruto," Rin smiled happily, glad her teammate was victorious.

"Thanks" Naruto grinned back sheepishly, running his hand through his hair. "I got a lucky shot."

Shaking her head in amusement at his answer, Rin's smile almost immediately slipped from her face, a worried look overtaking. "Kakashi," she murmured, staring in the direction to where her teammate had disappeared, thoughts travelling back to the two unknown shinobi he was taking on. She bit her lip in thought '_No one knows the strength of the two Kakashi was taking on, they never revealed any attacks. I hope he's alright.'_

"Rin?" Naruto questioned. "What happened to Kakashi?"

Turning back towards Naruto, Rin saw the faint panic in his eyes. She gestured with her hand towards the trees. "He went that way, pursued by the other two Iwa nin."

Naruto hardly waited for her to finish, leaping off in search of his former sensei. '_Kakashi-sensei,' _he worried, leaping through the trees. '_You better be okay.'_

Hearing once again the chirping sound of one-thousand birds, Naruto cursed softly, urging his limbs to advance faster, the attack echoing through his eardrums. Finally spotting his teammate in another open clearing, Naruto bounded down to join him, noting with confusion there was only one opponent – the second nin missing.

"Kakashi," Naruto called, landing nimbly beside his teammate, seeing the cyclops momentarily freeze up before relaxing slightly. "Where is the other one?"

The silver-haired teammate turned back to Naruto, a confused look in his one visible eye. "I don't know, he disappeared almost straight away, heading back the way we came," he paused. "I thought he was going back to fight you."

Shaking his head slightly, Naruto turned back to the remaining Iwa nin. "Never saw him at all, he must have made a run for it," he began to move forward slightly. "Let's finish this one off so we can continue our mission," he grinned at the lone Iwa nin who looked thoroughly unnerved.

"Keep telling yourself that, but know I won't go down without a fight!" the Iwa shinobi yelled, shaking slightly despite his words.

Nodding in agreement, Kakashi grabbed Naruto's arm, halting him from advancing further. "Not so fast, you need to be cautious," he warned. "He has incredible healing powers, he was able to stand after being hit by chidori," he gestured to the large burn-like hole in the man's shirt.

"Wow," Naruto breathed, eyeing the man with interest. '_I wonder if he is a Jinchuuriki.' _

Becoming overconfident with his healing ability, the man puffed up in pride. "My medical ninjutsu is so advanced, I can heal myself very quickly by channeling my chakra to the place of attack," he boasted, glaring at the two Konoha nin's. "Nothing can defeat me, not even that so called..Chidori." he grinned arrogantly.

"Don't be too sure of that," Naruto smiled slightly, creating another three kage bunshin who poofed into existence beside him, ready to fight. Holding his hand out again, two of his clones began to manipulate his wind chakra, resulting in a giant shuriken forming. A loud bell-like screech began to echo throughout the clearing, leaving the Iwa nin and Kakashi alike thoroughly shocked.

Stretching his arm above his head, Naruto raised his head and locked eyes with the frozen Iwa shinobi. Wasting no time as his clones darted in front of him, Naruto jumped backwards into the trees, dashing through his cover to the back of the Iwa nin.

Naruto smiled slightly as he saw the enemy shinobi furiously slashing at his clones, his movements becoming sloppy in his frightened state. Deciding to make his presence known, Naruto darted out of the trees, having a clear shot at the enemy's back. '_This is too easy,' _Naruto grinned to himself, throwing his Rasenshuriken towards the Iwa nin, alerting the shinobi by yelling his attack's name.

Turning quickly as the voice reached him, the Iwa nin could only watch in horror as the Rasenshuriken ploughed into him, sending him flying out of the clearing before becoming trapped in the vortex of microscopic wind-blades. Unconsciousness slipping away, the Iwa nin noted with satisfaction the sight of his lone remaining teammate, slipping away undetected through the trees after viewing the attack. Head falling forward, the man welcomed the darkness that consumed him.

Breathing heavily, Naruto fell to his knees, shaking slightly with the exertion of his final attack. Hearing his approaching footsteps, Naruto glanced up to meet Kakashi's eye, shock visible in his face. There was silence in the clearing as the teammate's studied each other. Naruto continued to pant as he began to rise to his feet, Kakashi's arm suddenly there to assist him. He turned to his teammate who gave him a cheerful eye smile. "Amazing!" Kakashi breathed, pulling Naruto to his feet, "that was some attack; I've never seen anything like it before!"

Naruto nodded, not responding, as Kakashi released him and went to confirm the death of the Iwa nin. Satisfied he was gone; Kakashi quickly sealed the body into a scroll before rejoining Naruto, the blonde heading back towards their female teammate.

The two walked in silence, taking comfort in the fact that the battle was over. Emerging into their campsite, the pair discovered a frantic Rin, who jumped to her feet at the sight of them.

"You're okay!" she gasped, seemingly appearing before them and helping them to the seating logs. Karura was sitting silently by herself as she studied the two males, Temari safe in her arms. She seemed to visible deflate at their arrival as she smiled in greeting. "I'm glad to see you're both safe," she sighed in relief.

"Thanks," Kakashi smiled faintly, seating himself down as Rin began to fuss over the nicks and gashes that littered his body.

Naruto remained silent, staring off into the trees, a frown etched upon his face. He cocked his head to the side, listening hard. Finally straightening up, he looked slightly worried. "We have company," he murmured, startling his teammates who hastily jumped to their feet again, kunai drawn.

They listened to the birds chirping in the canopy as they awaited the approaching party – Naruto indicating it was platoon of four. Team Kakashi remained silent, breathing softly as they scanned the surrounding trees.

"Snap!"

Jerking around, Naruto threw his kunai with deadly accuracy at the source of the sound, hearing a loud curse ring through the air as his weapon connected with the target.

Bracing themselves, Team Kakashi tensed as four shadows became visible, jumping down to meet them. One of them, a hard faced man, glared at Naruto with distaste, the man ripping a kunai out of his arm. Instantly relaxing, Rin allowed a smile to grace her face as she caught sight of the hitai-ate the shinobi were sporting – Sunagakure.

"Kabisa!" Karura cried in delight, running towards the tall man, inspecting the wound he had attained.

"Karura-sama," the man bowed low in greeting. "I am glad to see you well."

Karura waved her hand enthusiastically towards Team Kakashi. "It was only because of these guys, they protected me when we were attacked just then, Iwa shinobi," she smiled.

The burly Suna captain managed a hard smile, relieved his charge had not been injured. "Well, that's surprising isn't it?" he glanced at Team Kakashi. "Thank you for your help in this mission, my team and I-" he gestured to the remaining silent Suna nin, "will personally escort Karura-sama the rest of the way. You're free to head back to Konoha."

"Are you sure?" Kakashi asked, voice heavy with concern. "You might have to face another attack on the way home; it might be safer if we accompany your team for the time being."

The Suna nin waved it off, laughing. "I'm sure we can handle it," he chuckled. "Your Hokage has advised us to catch up to escort Karura-sama home, so it would be wise if you were to do the same," his voice held a dismissive tone.

Nodding in agreement, Kakashi turned to his team. "Alright, our mission is over. Move out for Konoha, the mission is under control," he turned back to their former charge. "I wish you a safe trip home, Karura-sama."

"Likewise," the Kazekage's wife smiled, locking eyes with Naruto. "I hope we meet again Naruto," she grinned. "You must visit sometime, I'm sure Temari will miss you otherwise."

"Of course," Naruto laughed, "send me the time and I'll be there." He waved in farewell before turning around. "Let's go home guys," he paused, rubbing his stomach. "I'm dying for some Ramen."

Shaking her head in amusement, Rin bade farewell to the Suna group before leading the way; her two teammates following close behind, heading home on a job well done.

* * *

"Tsuchikage-sama," a low voice murmured, bowing respectfully before his master in the dark room. "I bring you interesting news."

"Oh?" a rough voice answered, amused. "And what might that be Tameki?"

Tameki straightened up, hesitating slightly before replying. "Team fourteen ventured across a platoon of Konoha shinobi on the border of fire, heading to Sunagakure." He paused, looking for signs of negativity from his leader. When none came he continued on. "The group together appeared very strong; they would be considering they took out Kenta, Henari, and Saboto, even though they all look to be teenagers. The main problem though was one of the Konoha shinobi, he could be trouble."

"Did you get a name?" the Tsuchikage questioned, eyes narrowing.

"Yes, sir," Tameki shifted nervously. "He was called Naruto; I heard his name mentioned by the kunoichi in their team. He managed to kill Henari with a Rasengan," he paused, letting the information sink in.

"What!" the Tsuchikage exclaimed, "the Rasengan?" he frowned slightly, rubbing his chin in thought. "That's one of the techniques the dreaded Yellow Flash is famous for," he swiftly looked back at the cowering man before him. "Anything else about this boy?"

"Yes," Tameki cleared his throat. "He killed Saboto with a very advanced attack. I had never seen anything like it before. It appeared at first glance to be another Rasengan, until wind blades formed from the sphere to make a monstrous jutsu."

"How can he be so strong?" the Tsuchikage questioned, standing up and beginning to pace. "He knows the Yellow flash's jutsu and appears to have one that's stronger," he turned back to Tameki. "Description of this threat?"

Tameki shook slightly before his leader, unsure about whether to answer. Finally gaining his voice he lowered his head and mumbled softly, words incoherent.

"Louder, Tameki," the Tsuchikage rumbled, fast becoming impatient.

"Spiky blonde hair and blue eyes," he murmured, unable to meet his leaders eyes.

A pregnant silence followed his words, soon followed by a loud cackle which turned into full blown laughter. "The Yellow Flash has a child!" the Tsuchikage crowed, pumping his fist in the air. "This is such good news!" he rounded on the shinobi. "You're dismissed!" he yelled at the frightened Tameki who scuttled from the room.

The Tsuchikage halted his pacing, reverting back to his former self as he seated himself back onto his chair. Rubbing his hands together in anticipation, the Tsuchikage felt excited for the first time in years.

"Soon I will have my revenge," he grinned.

* * *

I'm not sure if Naruto is only able to throw his Rasenshuriken when in Sage mode. All I really know about it is that he encases the Rasenshuriken with his chakra to maintain his shape, allowing him to throw it at opponents. Not sure if he is able to do this outside of Sage mode, but it seems possible. If it's not possible, please just pretend it is – because Naruto is so awesome he can do anything.

Reviews are very much appreciated, thank-you


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: **Don't own, don't sue.

**Summary:** After an encounter with an old friend, Naruto accidentally travels back in time. Why is the Yondaime still alive and just who is after him now? Is there any way to get back to the present? Minato Namikaze, alive.

* * *

**Two Blondes, One Time Era**

Chapter Six

Updated: 2-23-10

* * *

"Well," Kakashi eye smiled. "That was certainly eventful."

"You don't say," Rin glanced over at her teammate, narrowly missing a branch as they leapt through the thick canopy. So far their blonde teammate had remained silent on the journey home. It's like he's worried about something, Rin pondered, shooting a look at the stoic look on Naruto's face. "Hey Naruto," Rin voiced, snapping the teenager from his thoughts, "what's up? You seem to be thinking about something rather intently," she smiled faintly, breaking the tension between them.

"Hmm," Naruto grinned guiltily, ruffling his hair at being caught. Rin blushed silently at the beamed look on his face.

_'He really is a looker;'_ she smiled, turning quickly away to shield her face, urging herself – despite her emotions – to advance further through the trees, putting a distance between herself and the blonde.

"Eh, Rin, are you alright?" Naruto suddenly sounded concerned, propelling himself towards his female teammate. "You look kind of red, do you have a fever?"

Turning swiftly away from the pair, Kakashi grinned slightly under his mask as he heard Rin's squawk of indignation. He couldn't help but wishfully hope that his two teammates would become an item. Rin seemed to open up and show some enthusiasm around the blonde – something she hadn't done much of since Obito's tragic death. Kakashi frowned slightly as a twinge of painful memories hit him. He still suffered greatly, constantly mourning the loss of his former teammate – the one who taught him the value of friendship.

_'I don't think I'll ever be able to get over it,'_ Kakashi thought sadly, thinking back to the awful day. _'If I had only been quicker Obito's death could have been prevented.'_ He shot a look back over at his companions, watching Naruto fussing over Rin's health – oblivious to the poor girl blushing profusely. Kakashi shook his head slightly in amusement. It was good for Rin's mind to be taken off of training. He knew she somewhat a lot blamed herself for Obito's death – believing if her medical skills were better she could have saved him – even though his situation had been hopeless.

"What's so funny, Kakashi?" Rin interjected, peering around Naruto to see the cyclops teammate – using any excuse to pardon herself from the increasingly embarrassing conversation with the blonde. Pausing slightly when she did, Naruto plunked down beside her on a wide branch.

"Maa.. nothing at all," Kakashi turned back to the two questioning teenagers after his simple reply, flashing them yet another eye smile.

"Hmm," Rin frowned, not looking convinced. "Well, we should pick up our pace a bit more. If we do we should be able to make it back to the village before dark." Shooting one last suspicious look at Kakashi's amused face; Rin turned her back on the two males and continued their trek.

"She's pissed," Naruto confidently concluded, tearing his eyes from Rin's retreating back to glance at Kakashi, who laughed softly in return.

"Oh she's not," his former sensei chuckled. "She's just confused, don't worry yourself, she'll come round," he began to make his way after their female teammate. Shaking his head in bewilderment, Naruto grinned faintly as he continued back to Konoha.

The fiery red ball in the sky was rapidly descending as the walls of Konoha came into sight of team Kakashi. A while and blonde haired hair could be faintly seem standing at the gates, assumingly waiting for the approaching team. Squinting against the sun, Naruto and Rin struggled to figure out the identity of the motionless duo, while a curious look came across Kakashi's face.

Frowning slightly as he caught sight of his sensei, Kakashi picked up his pace to reach the man – Naruto and Rin trailing behind.

_'Oh oh,'_ Naruto's eyes widened and he hesitated slightly as he finally determined the identity of the two men – Yondaime and Ero-sennin! While he was happy to again lay eyes on his sensei in this time – alive and kicking – he was becoming more worried at the sight of the two men standing together. Surely they would have had a 'little chat' about his claims.

Eyes falling to rest upon the face of his old sensei, Naruto noticed immediately the slight difference to the Jiraiya of his time. The laid-back pervert of the future looked like he had yet to surface – the Jiraiya of this time era radiated immense power and authority. While he hadn't looked very impressive when caught peeping earlier, the dramatic change in the man was now startling. Waiting patiently with crossed arms, there was a pensive look on the man's face that instantly made Naruto uneasy. It obviously didn't look like the man was waiting for them to discuss idle chit-chat.

Biting his lip anxiously, Naruto fell even further behind Kakashi, dreading the confrontation waiting at the gates. Rin, noticing that he was dropping behind, nudged him playfully. "Come on Naruto, move it," she laughed. "You're going slower than a turtle," she grinned at him.

"I just wish the mission could have been longer," Naruto groaned, slapping a branch out of his face, missing the faint tinge once again adored upon Rin's cheeks.

"As if," she jokingly laughed, recovering nicely. "I think we had more than enough action for one mission." Glancing towards the entrance of Konoha, Rin noticed their final team member leaning in front of their sensei and the legendary sennin. "Let's catch up to them," she voiced, nodding towards the trio. "Something must have happened for them to be waiting," she scratched her chin unconsciously, lost in thought of a reason.

_'Yeah,'_ Naruto dreaded. '_For them two to be together – they must have figured my answers didn't fit.'_ Hiding his worries as he replied with a cheery word of consent, Naruto pushed on towards the dreaded confrontation to come – Rin by his side.

* * *

"Sensei," Kakashi nodded in greeting as he bounded from the edge of the forest, landing in front of his teacher and Jiraiya. The two men smiled warmly at him.

"Successful mission, I presume?" the blonde Hokage gazed inquisitively at the cyclops ninja.

"Yep," Kakashi stepped forward slightly, "We did run into some problems but overcame them."

"Hmm," the blonde raised his eyes once again to the trees, watching the other two members of Team Kakashi swiftly advancing. "We don't have time at the moment; I'll take your report tomorrow, along with a report on your singular mission." He shared a meaningful look with the sharingan wielder.

Bowing faintly in agreement, Kakashi murmured a simple 'Yes, sensei,' before straightening up as his teammates landed beside him.

"Sensei," Rin greeted cheerfully before turning and bowing to the toad sage. Naruto remained silently by her side, shifting nervously from foot to foot, only able to give a small nod in greeting to the two adults observing him.

"Naruto, Rin," Yondaime greeted the new additions, eyes only fixed on the younger blonde who avoided his gaze. "I wonder if I can have another quick talk with you, Naruto." He pressed on, all too aware of the curiosity in Rin's eyes. "Just a few more questions about your background," he smiled comfortingly and Rin settled back, looking convinced.

"Sure, I guess," Naruto murmured, observing his sandals – anywhere but looking at the Hokage – "when?"

"Well, I really wanted to get it sorted out as soon as possible, so now would be great," the Yondaime gestured to Kakashi and Rin. "You two are dismissed, Kakashi, report tomorrow of the mission details and for a new one."

"Hai, sensei," Kakashi and Rin briefly stood to attention before heading into the village. Naruto remained motionless as his teammates left his side, opting to survey Jiraiya who gazed back silently, appraising him.

"Well, Naruto," the older blondes cheery voice brought him out of his thoughts. "I think you have some more explaining to do."

Eyes swiftly snapping to the man, Naruto was relieved to see no anger on the older blonde's face – only open curiosity.

Jiraiya, rubbing his chin in thought, sighed before turning to the young Hokage. "Best we have this chat indoors, Minato," he gestured to their surroundings. "You don't know who's listening in."

Nodding wordlessly in agreement, Yondaime turned and began to make his way towards the Hokage tower at a brisk pace. Glancing at the toad sage who motioned for him to move, Naruto turned – heart thumping madly – and followed after the blonde Hokage with Jiraiya trailing behind.

* * *

Raising his eyes as the sound of knocking echoed around the large room, the Tsuchikage called out of in a loud voice to enter, standing up as the team ambled in.

"Tsuchikage-sama," the squad greeted respectfully, bowing low before their leader.

Looking at the group before him, the Tsuchikage couldn't help but grin maliciously in anticipation. "You all know why you are here," he began, proceeding from around his desk, beginning to pace in front of the assembled group. There was silence in the room as the Tsuchikage paced before the team, humming slightly.

"Tracker group four," he finally turned to face the group. "I have pulled you aside for an under-the-radar mission; this will be classified as an S class, at least." He paused in his stride and assessed the impressive group before him. "You four get the honor of being chosen to assassinate the son of Konoha's Yellow Flash," a mad grin threatened to stretch across his face. "He will be easy to find once you get inside Konohagakure's walls." He scratched his chin thoughtfully, "he has the same blonde hair, blue eye combo and appears to be around seventeen to eighteen years old. He also wields formidable jutsu, including the Rasengan, so treat him with caution. Make sure you tread carefully; I want no error from this mission. The boy will no doubt be close to the Yellow Flash most of the time, obviously you will need to strike when they are separated.

Listening with rapt attention to his words, three members of the quad nodded stiffly in affirmation, acknowledging the rare word of warning from their leader. The fourth, however, cleared his throat nervously and stepped forward unbidden. "Sir," he bowed his head once more. "How can it be the Yellow Flash's son we are to hunt? If the boy appears as old as you claim he is, than him being a son is impossible."

He shook his head, red hair flailing about, "The Yellow Flash is not even thirty years old yet, there must be some kind of mistake." Stepping back, he lowered his gaze to the floor, awaiting the wrath of his leader for his bluntness.

"Fine," the Tsuchikage waved his hand dismissively. "We'll just class them as brothers if it helps you sleep better at night. That doesn't change anything, the proof that those two are related is impossible to ignore, so make sure the job get's done." He stared at the impressive quad before him – his finest tracking unit – and smirked confidently. "Begin now."

"Hai Tsuchikage-sama," within a second, the slight breeze was the only evidence that the squad had been present in the room.

Still smirking arrogantly, the Tsuchikage sauntered back over to his desk. Pulling out a bottle of sake, he filled a saucer, raised it and mockingly toasted the empty room. "To the death of the Namikaze!" he chuckled, draining the glass.

* * *

"Well, here we are again, ey, Naruto?" Minato began, sighing with content as he lowered himself into his chair – Jiraiya perched on the edge of his desk. "You might want to start from the beginning," he gazed at the blonde teenager standing just inside the room. "Don't leave anything out," he propped his chin up with his hands after motioning for Naruto to begin.

_'Urgh, no way out of this,'_ Naruto thought wildly, gazing at the calm expression on the Yondaime's face as he patiently waited for him to begin. He mimicked the blonde Hokage – sighing – before adorning a dejected look upon his face.

"Um," he shifted his feet slightly, all too aware of the adults watching his every mood. "I really don't know how to say it," he gazed at the impressive figures before him. "I had a really hard time myself getting my head around the situation – it just seems unreal."

"Try us," Jiraiya coaxed gently, pushing himself off the desk to move closer – Yondaime nodding encouragingly from behind his desk.

'**_Good luck explaining this to them, kit,_**' a deep voice rumbled, the fox rising to his feet in his cage. '**_This I have just got to see._**'

"Well," Naruto hesitated slightly before bracing himself; '_it wouldn't hurt if I just told them.'_ He scratched his head as he looked from the Hokage to his former sensei. "Well," he began again, "the blunt answer would be that I think I went back through time."

"..."

Slightly crestfallen at their silence, Naruto gazed steadily at the two men before him. From the way they were gaping at him, he may as well have sprouted a second head. Judging from their silence, it was obvious they were half expecting and hoping he would jump up and scream 'April Fools!' Instead the stillness continued in the room, occasionally broken by a bird twittering from outside.

"See," Naruto finally muttered, dejected, "I knew you wouldn't believe me," he looked down at his feet.

Jiraiya collected his wits first. The toad sennin slowly advanced closer and asked in a meekly, curious voice, "you're sure that's what happened?"

Nodding wordlessly, Naruto merely looked on as Jiraiya turned to face the Hokage, eyebrows raised. Leaning forward on his desk, Yondaime locked eyes with his sensei and half smiled in amusement at the sight. "I guess it could be possible."

Continuing to look incredulous, Jiraiya shot another look at the now motionless Naruto before facing Minato again. "Surely you don't believe that?" he probed. "I've never heard of anyone being able to move through the space time continuum in any way," he folded his arms, looking unconvinced.

"Maybe they do have the knowledge and ability in the future," Minato suggested. "After all, that's where he claims to have come from." He pressed on quickly after seeing the incredulous look on his sensei's face. "Think about it as a possibility, sensei," he murmured quietly. "It would explain a lot of things, including his ability to do Rasengan."

Rubbing his chin thoughtfully, Jiraiya turned back to Naruto. "Prove it to us," he insisted, stepping even closer. "I'll need to see some hard evidence before I'll even begin to consider what you're claiming," he raised his eyebrows mockingly, expecting Naruto to decline.

Mind suddenly whirling with ideas, Naruto found himself nodding in agreement. "Should we do it now?" he rubbed his hands together. "I have more than enough evidence to back up my claims."

"Now's fine," Yondaime was quick to agree, joining Naruto by the door. "I'm sure we can find a secluded training ground far from other shinobi, coming, sensei?"

Jerking his head, Jiraiya proceeded out of the office in search of an empty training ground - the two blondes following close in his footsteps.

* * *

"This should be far enough," Jiraiya announced, turning back to the Yondaime and Naruto as they emerged from the trees. The moonlight shone brightly over the clearing, illuminating the sennin's white hair.

Nodding his approval, the older blonde hastened over to the sennin's side before pausing and addressing Naruto. "Okay, we may as well start with what we already know," he smiled faintly. "Would you please show Jiraiya your Rasengan?"

"Sure." Holding out his right hand, Naruto concentrated on building his chakra to his palm and manipulating it to form a sphere. Moments later the swirling blue orb was visible, residing on his hand.

"Impressive," Jiraiya smiled slightly, "I taught it to you?"

Letting the offensive attack die out, Naruto lowered his hand and smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, you taught it to me when I was twelve, it's become one of my favorite jutsu's." He rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "I have to use a kage bunshin to help me make the Rasengan though. My clone would concentrate on the chakra control while I pumped chakra into it, forming the jutsu."

"Wait, wait, wait," Jiraiya interjected. "You could master a difficult technique like Rasengan yet you couldn't perfect your chakra control?" Jiraiya questioned, looking confused. "That doesn't work."

"Oh," Naruto frowned slightly, wondering if he was giving too much away. "It's because I have a large amount of chakra. That's why I favored jutsu like Rasengan and kage bunshin – they required a lot of chakra to use. I got through missions easy with my large amount of stamina – I would just plough through missions with force."

"Ah," smiled the Yondaime, "That would explain the large amount of kage bunshin you used during your attempted escape," he laughed lightly. "I have never heard of one person creating that many before though – you must have the stamina of Kami!" Settling down onto the grass, Yondaime leant up comfortably against a tree before glancing back up again. "You're strongest jutsu?"

"Hmm," Naruto thought, glancing at the older blonde. "My most offensive jutsu would be the one I told you about, the Rasenshuriken."

"The one you created yourself?" Minato questioned, sitting up slightly. Beside him, Jiraiya's figure became slightly ridged as a look of curiosity passed over his face.

"Yeah." Quickly raising his fingers into a familiar cross and murmuring out a quiet 'kage bunshin' Naruto and his clone's made quick work in forming his prized Rasenshuriken. Eyes bulging, Yondaime and Jiraiya gazed at the huge jutsu screeching on Naruto's hand. Casually flicking his wrist, Naruto sent the blue shuriken flying into a distant tree. Expanding slightly just before it reached its target, the jutsu made one last screech before connecting with the tree. The huge explosion from the jutsu shocked the two adults, sending Yondaime and Jiraiya scampering for cover. Naruto swiftly followed after them – taking shelter behind a large tree while the blast passed them by.

Looking with disbelief at the miniscule attacks that ravished the tree to bits, Jiraiya couldn't help but be immensely impressed with this young individual. Whether his background claims were true or not, he couldn't deny that the boy was amazing. Shaking dust from his eyebrows; Jiraiya turned to Naruto and shouted incoherently at him – ears ringing. When the ground had finally stopping shaking, he once again attempted to talk. "You could have given us a bit of warning!" he yelled, massaging his ears.

Beaming with delight, Yondaime walked back out into the open, surveying the remains of the training ground. It looked as if a war had taken place. Turning back to Naruto who was walking out from behind the tree – a still complaining Jiraiya behind him – Minato gestured to the destruction.

"I can certainly see why it's your best jutsu," he grinned widely, looking at his sensei for his added approval – the Gama-sennin simply looked astounded.

"So?" Naruto questioned, rocking on the soles of his feet, glancing between the two men.

"Hmm," Jiraiya surveyed the damage once more before turning back to Naruto. "Although I don't like many things besides women," he grinned perversely. "I must admit that jutsu was astounding."

Grinning with embarrassment at the praise, Naruto froze suddenly as a flash of movement caught his eye – no one was supposed to be out here. Yondaime and Jiraiya – noticing the movement as well – swiftly glanced in the direction in silence. A large green mound was clearly visible, attempting to blend in with some nearby shrubs.

Within a flash, the Yondaime was no longer standing beside Naruto and Jiraiya, instead leaning over the green bulge, which promptly untangled to become a teenager who jumped to his feet. "Hokage-sama!" The boy – who looked to be Naruto's age – had an uncanny resemblance to Rock Lee. "Have you come to join me for laps on this youthful morning?" the boy yelled, striking a dazzling pose.

"Oh, it's just you, not today Guy," Minato laughed, relaxing as Naruto and Jiraiya rushed towards them. Looking with shock at the young Might Guy – already adorning his green spandex – Naruto couldn't help but shiver at the sight.

"Of course! You have no time to train, Hokage-sama!" Guy yelled tragically, tears streaming from his eyes. "But it looks like you have been training already!" he peered at the destruction surrounding them. "You are still thriving in the springtime of youth, Hokage-sama!" he raised a hand in salute. "I'll leave you to peace so you are able to attain maximum results!" Not giving the Yondaime any time to respond, Guy turned sharply and sped off with a green flash, leaving a flabbergasted trio behind.

"...Well," Yondaime still looked slightly bemused, "We may as well call that a day," he looked around at Jiraiya. "I trust you were satisfied by his explanation now, sensei?"

"Hmm," Jiraiya nodded, "for now, we still have to figure out how you got here, any ideas?"

Shaking his head, Naruto grimaced slightly. "No sorry, it only occurred during a fight I had, I couldn't explain it."

Sighing in disappointment, Jiraiya looked at Naruto questioningly for a few more moments before turning back to the Hokage. "Well, Minato, I must make my leave. There's a bar stool with my name on it," he grinned.

"It's settled then, we'll try and figure it out later" turning back to Naruto, Yondaime gave him a warm smile. "You're back at the Yamanaka's for now. If you hurry you might just make it in time for dinner," he glanced at his watch. "I have a mound of work to catch up on now so I'll walk back with you, they're on the way after all," he laughed.

Giving a small smile in return, Naruto settled into pace beside Yondaime and Jiraiya, making their way back to the village – thoughts on nothing but dinner.

* * *

"That's him," a voice whispered through the air - it wasn't a question.

"Without a doubt," a second cold voice replied. "Blonde hair, blue eyes and accompanied by the Yellow Flash – that's our target."

"Whoever these 'Yamanaka's' are, that's where he's staying," a third party member added their thoughts.

The fourth and final member's eyes narrowed slightly. "They're heading back to the village – Plan assassination is in action," he murmured, as the squad stealthily set off after their targets – a group of shadows in the night.

* * *

Reviews are very much appreciated, thank you.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: **Don't own, don't sue.

**Summary:** After an encounter with an old friend, Naruto accidentally travels back in time. Why is the Yondaime still alive and just who is after him now? Is there any way to get back to the present? Minato Namikaze, alive.

* * *

**Two Blondes, One Time Era**

Chapter Seven

* * *

Naruto tossed and turned in his bed in the Yamanaka residence. For some unknown reason, his head was plagued with unease, refusing to shut off for the night.

"This sucks," Naruto grumbled for the fifth time, smashing his fist into his pillow to soften it up. Glancing at the alarm click glowing faintly beside his bed, Naruto sighed loudly at early time it showed.

"3:18am, are you kidding me?" Slipping silently out of his bed, Naruto made his way to the window, gazing out through the rain pattered glass at the surrounding trees. Resting his arms on the sill, Naruto yawned wearily as his eyes roved upwards to the dark, bleak sky. Lightning illustrated the room every few seconds, every now and then accompanied by a loud clap of thunder.

As a sudden red flash between the flapping trees drew his attention, Naruto averting his eyes from the gloomy night sky, squinting his eyes slightly to attempt to make out the object he had just seen. Noticing nothing amiss, he stood up, pressing his hands against the chilly glass as he leaned in as close as the window permitted. Frowning slightly, Naruto backed away from the window, running his fingers through his hair in frustration, chiding himself about whether he had actually seen anything at all.

'_Hmm, Kyu, what do you think?_' Naruto probed, eyes still glued to the window, '_it was most likely nothing._'

'_**Hmm, I think you should still go check it out, kit. It's not like you were planning on sleeping anytime soon, anyway.**_'

'_Sounds good to me,_' Naruto turned and silently made his way from the room, pausing slightly to close the door silently behind him. Padding down the hallway, wooden floorboards protesting slightly, Naruto stumbled over to the door.

Gentle easing it open, he was immediately pummeled with the whaling rain. "Damnit," he mumbled, instinctively raising his hands to shield his face. Lowering them only slightly to squint through the gusting wind, Naruto paced out into the storm, the door clicking shut behind him.

'_Which way, Kyu?_' Naruto questioned, running blindly towards the nearest trees, his pyjama bottoms squishing through the mud as he ran barefoot.

'_**South-east, kit,**_' the massive kitsune voiced, eyes alert in his cage as he surveyed the surroundings through Naruto's eyes. '_**There's an old training ground as well in that direction, maybe the thing was heading there?**_'

Agreeing silently, Naruto hastened his step towards the place indicated, mentally thanking the thick line of trees growing in the general direction he was heading. The large canopy overhead shielded Naruto from the majority of the rain as he reached the edge of the clearing and took to the trees,

'_**Stick to this path, kit,**_' Kyuubi advised. '_**There was definitely someone here recently; I can still faintly smell them, despite the rain.**_'

'_Alright,_' Naruto picked up his pace, swiping his wet hair out of his eyes. '_Just tell me if I need to change direction._'

'_**You got it, we're catching up fast. The scent is less than five minutes old.**_'

"Hmm," Naruto glanced around cautiously as he caught a first glimpse of the minuscule clearing, eyebrows raised slightly as he took in the pitiful space. "This is a training ground?" he scoffed.

'_**Clearly, it hasn't been used in years,**_' the fox growled out in irritation, tails flicking behind him. '_**The trail disappears pretty much here,**_' he voiced, sounding confused as Naruto jumped from the branches, slowing to a walk as he surveyed the area.

'_How could it just disappear?_' he questioned, glancing back from the way he came, eyebrows furrowed in thought.

'_**Don't ask me, boy. You might want to prepare yourself though; it looks like we have company.**_'

'_What?_' turning around, Naruto caught sight of a large man entering the clearing from the opposing side, his long red hair swinging at his side as he continued to close the distance between them.

"W-who are you," Naruto growled, backing away instinctively. "You're not from Konoha," he spat, scanning the mans forehead, lacking the absence of the familiar hitai-ate.

"How very.. astute of you," the man smirked, continuing to move closer with each step. "My name is Ruko and it's going to be your biggest mistake that you followed me out here," he shook his head slightly. "I'm surprised you were able to come here without an escort, at any rate."

"Huh?" Naruto stopped momentarily, new found questions burning through his mind. "...Umm, question. Why would I need an escort?"

A throaty chuckle came from his left as another unfamiliar face walked into his line of sight, face twisted with amusement. "So you're going to play ignorant, ey? No matter, that's only stupidity on your behalf," the man crossed his arms confidently.

"I assume you guys haven't just come for a friendly chat?" Naruto raised an eyebrow, eyes fixated solely on the redhead, who appeared to be the leader.

'_**Kit, watch your back, enemy nin at 6 o'clock,**_' Kyuubi cautioned. '_**Another is also watching from the trees on your right, you're surrounded.**_'

'_Got it, thanks,_' Naruto turned around slowly, observing the third figure standing motionlessly behind him, waiting for his leader to give the order. Frowning slightly, he turned back to the man identified as Ruko.

"Why don't you go ahead and let your other team member join the party, I'm sure he doesn't enjoy being held out of the introductions."

"Hmm, I bet you wish you had your guards with you now, don't you blondy?" the man laughed, none the less gesturing with his hand for his final teammate to emerge from the trees.

"Already reverting back to old statements?" Naruto chuckled softly, attempting to unnerve the observing nin. "Or do I need to go and repeat that I don't know why you assume that I would have escorts with me."

"Whatever you say, Konoha shinobi," the newest addition sneered, the large scar running vertically across one of his cheeks crinkling slightly. "Despite your attempts to distract us, your death is assured."

"...Urgh, you're just like a young Neji," Naruto groaned, massaging his temples. "Nothing in life is assured, so shut your lip, I'm allergic to bullshit."

"..."

"Why you insolent, little brat!" the man snarled, advancing menacingly, grey eyes furious beneath his think sandy hair. "Guys, stand back, I'll take care of this punk on my own."

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Seigi," Ruko stepped towards his teammate slightly, eyes flashing warningly. "You know the orders. We are to take no chance with him."

While the two men began arguing, Naruto discreetly studied their surrounding team, looking for anything that showed a sign of weakness. To his disappointment, all of them looked to be of Jonin level, if their stance and attitude was anything to judge by. '_What should we do?_' Naruto continued glancing around, uneasiness rapidly settling over him.

'_**You know, now might be the time to get away,**_' Kyuubi suggested, attempting to be helpful. '_**They specifically targeted you, so it's likely they found out about me and are trying to gain my power.**_'

'_I'll say,_' Naruto resumed glancing around, now searching out the weakest target; his slight movements were unfortunately caught by the man now known at Seigi, the man discouraging him with a simple shake of his head.

"Well would you look at him," he gloated, "the boy is terrified. Let's not drag this out any longer, I can't wait to spread the news back home," he shifted slightly, tensing as he glanced at the redhead, awaiting his order. To his left and from behind, Naruto heard the two remaining nin draw in a breath as they also prepared themselves, all eyes locked solely on the impressive man in front of Naruto.

"Terribly sorry about this," Ruko grimaced slightly, "but you know, this is business, and I will not fail my mission." He glanced around at his tense team, giving a nod of approval, "whenever you are ready."

'Damnit,' Naruto inwardly cursed, eyes immediately flickered onto Seigi as the man grinned before beginning to advance towards the blonde, hands rapidly flashing through hand seals.

"Doton: Retsudo Tenshou!"(Earth Release: Earth Fissuring Palm) he yelled, slamming his hand into the ground.

Leaping from the collapsing ground, Naruto had no time to catch his breath as he landed on a tree branch. Ruko, anticipating his move had immediately leapt into the trees to meet him as his partner started his assault, swiping a kunai through the air at his chest, cutting through his clothes and chest, drawing a trail of blood and a hiss of pain from the blonde. Taking advantage of the sudden distraction, Ruko followed up with a powerful kick to the injury, sending the Konoha shinobi skidding through the rubble below.

"Urgh," Naruto ground out roughly, spitting dirt from his mouth as he rose to his feet, his fingers exploring the injury he had received, drawing it away to find his hand smeared with blood. It was quite deep but wouldn't put him out of the battle just yet. Apparently satisfied, Naruto straightened up, shaking remnants of rubble from his hair. "Is that all you got?" he taunted, glaring up at the leader.

"We're just getting started," the man from Naruto's left had joined the fray, running a hand through his brown unkempt hair as he regarded the blonde with small piercing black eyes.

"Well, let's go then," Naruto jumped backwards to an edge of the clearing, blinking a couple times as his vision blurred slightly for a moment. Shaking off the second of dizziness, Naruto focused back on the clearing, making sure to keep all four members in his line of sight. He was mentally keeping a cautious eye on the fourth member, who had yet to react to even speak. The man's shoulder length black hair fluttered in the wind as he remained station less, simply observing with large green eyes.

Raising his sleeve to wipe a bit of grit from the corner of his mouth, Naruto grimaced slightly at his opponents as Seigi made another attempt on his life, the furious man once again releasing a technique towards the blonde.

"Doton: Doryūsō!" (Earth Release: Rising Stone Spears)

Leaping from the ground to an overhead branch, Naruto quickly began a sequence of hand seals as a mass amount of spears erupted from the ground where he had been stationed moments before.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" he cried, two exact replicas appearing instantaneously beside the blonde, hands at the ready. At the appearance of his copies, the four shinobi regrouped together in the clearing, tensing slightly as they appraised the jutsu quickly coming to life on Naruto's hand, the bell like screech drumming through their ears.

"Futon: Rasenshuriken," he yelled, surprise etched on their faces as he launched his attack towards the occupied clearing, the four figures clearly visibly fleeing from the area before the jutsu had even left his hands, as if knowledgeable of his attacks destruction.

"What?" Naruto whispered, shocked that his enemy has appeared warned about his jutsu, the four only receiving minimal injuries from the technique.

"Well, that was certainly impressive," Ruko coughed, rising to his feet, brushing his jacket free of dust as he straightened up. Across the clearing, the other three were rising more slowly, two faces looking downright furious and slightly nervous while the ebony haired man remained expressionless.

"How?" Naruto questioned, shooting a glare down towards the grinning redhead who – despite a minimal amount of shallow cuts – looked none the worse for wear.

"How what?" the man spread his arms wide innocently. "It's natural that we would want to evade an attack thrown towards us, it's common sense," his grin widened, enjoying Naruto's irritation.

"Arrogance will be your downfall," Naruto snarled, quickly proceeding to create four shadow clones. The four promptly rushed at the awaiting nin – or rather three did. One simply flickered slightly before disappearing abruptly. Narrowing his eyes slightly but didn't comment; Naruto ignored the disappearance as he observed the remaining three desperately attempting to allow him a few seconds breather.

"Nice try," Ruko smirked as his men sprung into action, taking care of Naruto's copies with ease as their kunai throws and jabs struck with precision.

"Don't tell me this is the limit of your abilities?" Seigi laughed. "For some reason I find myself... disappointed. It seems almost comical now that I expected more to come from you, _boy_," he cocked an eyebrow mockingly.

'_**Kit, make a run for it,**_" the fox spoke up suddenly, actually sounded slightly concerned, if only a little. '_**These guys must be elite trackers and their stealth must be amazing, how else would they have gotten into your village in the first place?**_'

'_Luck?_' Naruto guessed, ducking under a kunai thrown towards his head, courteously of Seigi.

'_**It would take them far more than just luck. There is still maximum security surrounding this place from the Third Shinobi War,**_' he growled slightly in irritation. '_**Even though it shames me to advise you to run, I'd rather you be a smart coward than a foolish corpse, now move!**_'

Instinctively listening to the fox, Naruto plunged a hand into his weapon pouch, quickly shifting his fingers through his weapons until they closed around a pair of small round balls. Eyes narrowing as Ruko led his team in for a fresh assault, Naruto dared to wait until the leader was mere metres away, shifting into a taijutsu stance, when he chose to act.

Tossing one of his smoke bombs in front of the redhead, Naruto barely had time to twist out of the way as a fist whizzed past his head, the scarred brunette had decided to join the physical fight. Hastily throwing the second orb at the attacking shinobi, Naruto turned and raced from the clearing, intent of heading back towards to village to warn Yondaime of this threat.

"Tajuu, Kage Bunshin no Jutsu," he whispered once out of sight, hundreds of copies springing to life around him, all immediately shooting off in every direction, concealing Naruto's presence, giving him a fair chance to escape.

'_This is ridiculous, who could these people be,_' Naruto chided himself for becoming trapped so easily as he rushed towards the village, making no attempt to cover his presence – his clones were providing him cover anyway.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Skidding to a stop, Naruto watched with disbelief as the brunette stepped from the trees, fighting to control the victorious smirk that was beginning to spread across his face.

"Wow," he scoffed, bluffing. "I can't believe you didn't didn't see all those clones that populated the area suddenly, what makes you think I'm the real one?"

The man snorted slightly, "and you give yourself too much credit, we're not known as elite trackers for nothing," he shook his head sadly. "To think we were even commanded to take care of trash like you, it's almost an insult to us."

"Tracker or not, there is no way you could have seen the difference between the real and copies, they are all identical," Naruto protested, eyeing the man with distaste.

The man's grin slipped slightly as he slapped his face in apparent disbelief. "Are you really as stupid as you look? I have been following you since you left the clearing. That flashy stunt may have momentarily distracted my teammates but not me," he nodded confidently. "Now I get the pleasure of killing you single handed and receive all the credit," he crouched down slightly. "Now give me a good show."

Scoffing slightly at the man's confidence, Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "You asked for it then, don't say I didn't warn you," Naruto tilted his head slightly, five clones springing from the trees behind the brunette.

"Doton: Doryūsō!" (Earth Release: Rising Stone Spears) the man calmly muttered, flashing through the seals as the clones landed around him, a Rasengan swirling on each of their hands. Before the five could act, two had been dispelled, pierced from the spikes that rose abruptly from the ground beneath them. The remaining three pressed forward, surrounding the enemy nin before advancing, all three identical attacks outstretched on their palms.

"Hmm, not bad," the man grumbled admittedly, ducking underneath the first strike directed towards him, flipping over the second, driving a kunai into the clones back. As he distanced himself from the clones, he glanced back at them, watching as the stabbed clone dispelled, leaving nothing but a cloud of smoke and his abandoned kunai which clattered to the ground.

Still standing in his original position, Naruto carefully watched the man dispatch of his clones, the blonde grinning slightly as his two remaining copies rushed forward, one throwing a punch towards brunettes head. The man desperately twisted out of the way, leaving himself vulnerable to the clone which appeared beside him, driving the blue sphere of chakra against the brunettes shoulder, rendering his arm useless. The man cussed loudly, turning furiously on the clone with renewed energy, kicking the copy square in the chest, dispelling it instantly.

"And then there were two," the man panted, eyeing the remaining clone before turning back to the original. "You fight more proficiently than I gave you credit for, but still.. this is the end."

"The only end it's going to be is yours, I'm afraid," Naruto voiced, moving closer a few steps, the man retaliating by shuffling backwards as he advanced.

"Don't count me out just yet," the brunette fished another kunai from his pouch. "You may have taken away my ability to use jutsu's," he gestured his head at his shoulder, "but that doesn't mean I can't fight," he raised the weapon in front of him.

"Not for long," Naruto smiled, advancing swiftly on the man, kunai raised defensively. "You're already accepting defeat with your injury, becoming sloppy, because you're forgetting something."

"What nonsense," he growled, colour draining from his face as he suddenly realized his error – the clone! Whipping around sharply, the man brought up his kunai just in time, blocking the strike towards his back. In these seconds distracted, Naruto strung into action.

His feet suddenly moving underneath him, Naruto raced towards the brunette as he battled with his clone for dominance. Catching eyes with his copy, Naruto gave a slight nod, to which the clone rolled from the way of the kunai strike, leaping to his feet and bowling into the man, sending them both tumbling to the ground.

Closing the distance, Rasengan already formed on his hand, Naruto remained fixated on the man lying in the dirt, wrestling with his clone that had a firm grip on his arms. His loud breathing echoing in his ears, Naruto pushed himself to go faster as he lost a few moment of time, stumbling slightly as his vision blurred again for a few moments, longer than last time. Despite his apparent dominance of the battle, Naruto was almost completely worn out. His mass clones and multiple Rasengans had each taken a large chunk from his reserves, not to mention his Rasenshuriken from before, which in his eyes had been useless and a waste of chakra against these enemy nin. Naruto mentally thanked Kami for the battle ending at sight, if he was honest with himself; he was almost at his limit.

"This is the end," Naruto murmured, coming within range of the beaten man. Realizing the closeness of his target, the scarred man looked up, a victorious smirk on his face.

"Yes it is, Bunshin Daibakuha!" (Exploding Clone)

Eyes widening slightly at the shout, Naruto couldn't stop in time and retreat from the threat, he could only curse and squeeze his eyes shut, preparing for the explosion as his Rasengan ploughed into the detonating clone.

"..."

"Shit!"

**BOOM!**

As soon as the explosion rocked his ears, darkness instantly closed in around Naruto, shielding him from the light and the horror that was emerging. The closeness of the attack was so sudden and deadly, Naruto's nervous system was thrown out of whack instantly. He didn't hear the remnants of the attack ringing around the clearing. He failed to feel the pain of his mangled body falling to the earth with a loud thump. He couldn't taste the coppery red liquid that flowed through his mouth, trickling through his closed lips. He neglected the smell of burnt material and flesh that reeked from his body. He never saw the four enemy shinobi, peering through the trees at the destruction left behind, advancing slowly on the broken body of the teen.

All he knew... was the darkness.

* * *

Very, very, very late update ;'[

So sorry. Was going to do this chapter longer, but I just felt like cutting it off then.

I will **not **take that long again, I finally got my head around work.

Reviews are very much appreciated, thank you.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: **Don't own, don't sue.

**Summary:** After an encounter with an old friend, Naruto accidentally travels back in time. Why is the Yondaime alive, and just who hunts him now? Is there any way to get back to the present? Minato Namikaze - alive.

* * *

**Two Blondes, One Time Era**

Chapter Eight

Published: 5-23-10

* * *

The four enemy ninja cautiously entered the clearing, tensing slightly as they observed the bundle on the ground – the remains of the Yondaime's brother. The mission was a success, the Tsuchikage's credibility avenged; they were free to report home.

"That was a tad close for comfort," the scarred brunette wiped a slightly shaking hand across his forehead. "For a moment there I was sure he realized my plan," he chuckled dryly.

Two of his companions nodded their heads in agreement, keeping their thoughts on the situation to themselves.

"He has some interesting jutsu but his way of attempting to execute them was downright sloppy," Ruko snorted, slowly advancing out from the trees, eyeing the smoldering mass on the ground. Ruko, despite his arrogant remark, felt a pang of sympathy for the teenagers' fate. Simply because of the blood that ran through his veins, he was to be exterminated, no other outcome accepted. But still, the Tsuchikage's word was final, and Iwagakures best tracking team wasn't chosen for the sake of it.

Seigi snorted, spitting in the general direction of the prone figure of the blonde. "Good riddance to trash, he was foolish to not see death when it looked him in the eyes."

Ruko frowned, still studying the mass, in thought. "Even if your plan hadn't worked," he nodded at the brunette. "I'm sure he would have perished none the less," he fished a bloody kunai from his pouch. "I got him with that new poison we invented," he shrugged. "No one knows for sure what could have been the outcome, considering it hasn't been tested thoroughly, but it most probably wouldn't have been good.

Wisely keeping their mouths shut at the solemn expression on their leaders face, the remaining trio waited respectfully before Ruko finally sighed and averted his gaze, meeting all theirs in turn.

"Let's go home."

* * *

Yamanaka Residence

Yamanaka Inoichi was a one restless shinobi. Usually, after a full day of activities he dropped like a log, but the constant patter of rain on the rooftop prevented him from any shuteye. Normally, most would find the rain soothing, substituting the mind of a lullaby that assisted people to sleep. In Inoichi's ears, the sound was almost like a chime of bells, peaceful, yet just loud enough to prevent him from dropping off.

It was because of this very reason that the whirlpool of thoughts circulating around his head would not fade, leaving Inoichi weary, disgruntled and seriously dreading the day to come. Sighing to himself, the blonde rolled over to yet another position in an attempt to become comfortable, punching his pillow to soften it up slightly.

He hated nights like these.

If anyone saw him this restless from a little rain, it would most likely leave all flabbergasted. Most would naturally assume he could simply ignore the soft intrusion on his roof, they would probably question his sanity, if he could easily penetrate countless minds yet failed to ignore a bit of rain.

Finally deciding against sleep for the night, the blonde rolled over and gracefully rose from the bed, wincing slightly as his bare feet came into contact with the cold wooden floor. Emitting a satisfied groan from his mouth as he stretched his back, Inoichi ambled out of his bedroom door into the hallway.

"Lucky guy sure has the life," Inoichi grumbled almost jealously, casting a quick glance at his visitors closed door as he shuffled his way into his kitchen. Sighing again as he saw rain pelting down from the dark night sky, the blonde barely repressed a shiver as he crossed the small kitchen space to close the window, shooting a glance at the kitchen clock on the way – 5:10am.

Pausing slightly to flick on a nearby light switch, Inoichi then headed straight to the fridge, pouring himself a gracious amount of cereal to go with his orange juice he had also gathered. Grabbing yesterday's paper and a piece of fruit from the bench, Inoichi settled down comfortably, brushing his tangled hair from his eyes subconsciously.

With something to focus his mind upon besides the residing rain, the time slipped by smoothly for Inoichi, only glancing up and blinking owlishly against the streaming sun now pouring through his window, as he finally laid aside his paper. Stretching his arms above his head, the Yamanaka sighed wearily as he dropped his dirty cutlery onto his plate with a clatter and headed for the sink. Absentmindedly rinsing his place clean, Inoichi's eyes roamed around the kitchen, refocusing on the clock for a double take. The time sure had flown by, the digits now announcing that it was just past 8:37am.

He raised an eyebrow slightly. "Hmm, Naruto should be up soon if he's to make it in time to the Hokage tower," he murmured to himself before raising his voice and calling to the other blonde.

Five minutes and a clean sink later, Inoichi grumbled slightly at the lack of a second blonde in sight, sighing as he made his way to his visitors' room. Was he a personal alarm clock now? He questioned as he rapped sharply on the door, retaining the same results. One thing about his visitor Inoichi was now certain of: Naruto defiantly needed to fix his time management, it was anything but perfect.

"Naruto," Inoichi called, banging his knuckles once again against the wood. "Wake up." Inoichi could only wait patiently outside a door for so long, irritation quickly settling in as he heard no sound of movement emitting from the room. The blonde finally reached his limit of tolerance, jerking the door open and promptly marching in.

"Get up, Naru--"

Stopping midsentence in confusion, Inoichi surveyed the empty room that was presented before him. The bed covers were tossed back, clearly indicating that they had been slept in recently. Mind still processing the discovery, Inoichi backed from the room, closing the door behind him before he slumped against it, mind whirling.

His charge was no longer in the house where was he supposed to be and hadn't left any notification of his departure. Inoichi would question whether the messy bed hadn't been from the night before if he hadn't seen the teenager stroll in a little before nightfall the evening before. The easy solution would be that the energetic blonde had left a little early for his appointment, maybe to run some errands along the way. That answer wouldn't fit however, as he had been awake since the early hours of the morning, so there was no way he would have missed the blonde leaving.

So that only left…

Inoichi gasped before racing for the door, he had to notify the Hokage about this.

* * *

Minato sighed with content, swiveling his chair around and rising to his feet as he strode over to face the windows of his office which presented the beautiful image of the village bustling with like before his eyes.

Scrap that, his village.

He drank in the slights greedily: of civilians going about opening shops or beginning their own shopping or leisurely activities of the day, absentmindedly stopping to greet or talk to the familiar faces around them. Then there were the proud shinobi of Konoha. From watching newly formed Genin teams completing their first few 'D' ranks around the village, or simply observing the village ninjas leap from building to building gave him this same feeling every time. Pride bloomed through his chest at the sight of his village. Konoha and every one of her residents were just full of life!

Speaking of which…

"Minato-kun," a feminine voice called out from behind him, breaking the silence. Before the blonde could turn a pair of arms had encircled him, a chest pressed against his back, warm breath tickled his neck.

"Kushina-chan," he smiled, gently prizing her hands from his body so he could face her, soaking up the beauty that was radiating in front of him. Her long, waist length, red hair shone in the bright morning sky. Her bright, violet eyes sparkled with intelligence and playfulness as she stood before him.

His heart pounded madly whenever she was near, and now was no exception. Most in the village were enwrapped by her beauty and personality, almost as if she had cast a spell over the male population of Konoha. She was as most would call, a tomboy, yet it did nothing on dampening his sexuality. One smile from those full, plump lips or a wink from an eye that twinkled with fun and mischief had men falling head over heels, left right and center.

Her fan club was almost as overwhelming as Minato's, increasing rapidly every day since her arrival in Konoha. Formerly a shinobi of Whirlpool, her home had been utterly and completely destroyed, leaving her the sole survivor. Injured and alone, she had struggled until her body could support her no more, collapsing close to the borders of Konoha where she was shortly found. After being nursed back to health, she had been granted a meeting with the Hokage to discuss her situation.

It was instantaneous.

As soon as their eyes had locked, both felt a pull towards the other. Minato, heart jumping from his mouth, could only stare, while Kushina appeared in a similar state, frozen on the doorstep of his office. After regaining an acceptable level on composure, Minato had politely invited her to sit and tell her story, to which his shock, refused. Instead, the redhead crossed the room and grabbed his hand, sending tingles down the blondes at the contact. She had then announced they would discuss matters over dinner and promptly pulled him from the room. Minato went with her willingly without a second thought. He allowed her to pull him from his work and into his dreams.

He was already under her spell.

Over the following weeks Minato learnt more about the bewitching redhead, called Kushina, during numerous dinners, of course. The woman was loud and brash, stubborn and playful, a perfect contrast with Minato. The young Hokage soon learnt it was either 'her way or the highway' and he didn't mind one bit. He wanted what she wanted, and the feeling was mutual. They would both trade in their lives if it was for the sake of the other.

Surprisingly, the whole of Konoha welcomed Kushina into their home, simply accepting that their instant connection was passed down as 'fate', to which Minato was always thankful for. His sensei, Jiraiya, would sometimes comment on her fiery personality, claiming the feisty ones are the pick of the bunch with their tempter and mischievousness. Before, Minato used to laugh it down and claim it was only his perverted mind speaking, but now, the blonde couldn't agree more, especially when he had his arms around his perfect woman.

She was absolutely stunning, inside and out.

"You realize that you could be dead right now," she purred, nuzzling his ear with her nose as her arms went around him again. "Does that not concern you at all?"

Minato laughed softly in her ear, goose bumps appearing on the fair skin of her arms. "Are you saying I should fear you, Kush?"

"Most certainly," she smirked before nipping his lobe gently with her teeth. "You don't know what I'm going to do."

Pulling back slightly, the blonde cocked an eyebrow at the woman before him. "You sure do know how to make a man curious."

Reaching up, Kushina ran a slender hand through her mans blonde locks, intertwining them with her fingers. "Baby you have no idea," she whispered, pulling his head down to hers, capturing his lips with a fierce kiss.

Minato smiled against her lips, arms going around and pulling his woman into his chest, deepening their battle for dominance.

"Ah, ah, ah," Kushina smirked against his mouth. "Just what do we have here?" she nibbled his lip. "Aren't you a naughty boy," she teased, finally breaking free of their struggle. "I'm sure your secretary won't appreciate that you're neglecting your work," she gestured to his desk where a stack of paperwork sat waiting.

"It can always wait," he grinned, reaching for her again, she was irresistible. "You never wait."

Kushina plastered a surprised look on her face as she backed away slowly. "Now, wait a minute," she raised a hand. "Don't tell me that naughty boy is smart, too?" she continued backing up until she reached the window, giving Minato a sly grin which turned his legs to jelly.

"You know I have to be most cautious when you're around," he grinned back. "I can't have you pulling a prank on the Hokage, how would I ever live down the shame?"

"Hmm," the redhead raised a finger to her lips. "I don't think people would mind very much. I'm sure those fan girls would have classified me as Kami for that time I spilt paint down your shirt," she giggled. "They must have thought Christmas had come early seeing you flying home topless."

Minato groaned softly as he backed away, raising his fingers to his temples. "Don't even remind me about that."

"You're no fun," she stalked closer, reclosing the distance between them. "Their eyes were practically popping from their sockets. "You know," she paused, "it's enough to make a woman jealous," she pouted.

"Oh," Minato looked faintly surprised, pointing a finger meekly at her. "Are you saying that woman would be you?" he pulled her close. "I had no idea that I had that effect on you. Hmm," he tilted his head to the side. "What's that word," he twirled his fingers in thought. "Oh yes, how," he frowned, lips barely hiding a smile. "…Flattering?"

In mock anger, Kushina roughly pushed him away. "Don't test your luck, Blondie," she smirked. "Or I might just have to go find someone else."

"And replace me?" Minato leaned close, gazing intently at her. "Do you really think you could stay away?" he grinned, leaning close.

"So confident, just what I love." She purred, resting a slim hand on his chest. "You sure are a strong dominant man," she smiled, rising on her toes to plant a kiss onto his cheek. "But we're going to have to wrap this up," she whispered, jerking her head towards the door. "We have company."

Right on cue a breathless and panicked Inoichi burst through the door, stopping abruptly as he finally caught sight of his target. "Hokage-sama," he gave a curt bow. "We have a problem."

Minato took in the flustered image of the usually calm Yamanaka, frowning as he gently untangled himself from Kushina's grip. "Explain."

Inoichi remained silent, instead taking the time to catch his breath as he quickly looked at their audience, unsure if he was free to speak with company.

Noticing the man throw a quizzical glance towards Kushina, Minato nodded in affirmation. "It's fine, she can stay." He paced back to his chair, throwing himself in and swiveling it around, gesturing to one of the chairs in front of his desk. "The problem?"

Nodding in gratitude, Inoichi sunk into one of the stiff backed chairs, perching on the edge of his seat. "Naruto is missing," he continued after gaining a frown from the man before him. "He was nowhere in his room when I went to wake him for his appointment with you. There's no way he could have gotten our before I was up, because I was woken up during the storm, just after 5:00am."

Minato raked a hand through his blonde locks, thinking hard. "We dropped him off at the outskirts of the Yamanaka residents during the evening," he shot a look at the other blonde. "Did you see him come back last night?"

Inoichi nodded in confirmation. "Yes, he entered when I was fixing supper, he skipped dinner and went straight to bed, though," he shrugged.

Minato leant back in his chair, brow furrowed. It wasn't like the teenager to suddenly up and attempt to run, not after what he had openly told and shown him and Jiraiya-sensei. Something didn't feel right, not this scenario.

"Inoichi," he fixed his gaze back on the blonde. "I want you to go and bring Kakashi here immediately," he raised a finger in front of him. "Tell no one of what you're doing, just bring him here."

Nodding wordlessly, Inoichi rose and rushed from the door, beginning his search for the cyclops ninja.

The young Hokage rose from his seat, joining the unusually silent Kushina back beside the window, instead now gazing out solemnly upon the village.

Feeling the warmth of his lovers hand as she placed it atop his, Minato turned to smile briefly at her before turning back to the window. "Naruto," he murmured. "Where are you?"

* * *

Racing through the streets of Konohagakure, Inoichi critically surveyed each face he passed, hoping with each passing second that he would come upon the one he desired. The boy had been staying at his place, so he felt it as his responsibility to ensure he was found. Cursing softly as he reached the end of yet another street, the blonde abandoned his original plan, instead taking to the rooftops, hoping to catch a glimpse of that silver hair.

"Inoichi… Oi, Inoichi!"

Barely slowing, the Yamanaka quickly shot a look behind him towards the call, continuing to jump across the rooftops. "Shikaku," he turned back to concentrating on the people below him. "What's up?"

"Hmm," the Nara jumped up beside Inoichi, fighting hard to keep up with his pace. The blonde seemed relentless in finding something. "Maybe you could tell me?"

"Sorry Shikaku," Inoichi frowned, "I would say if I could, but you know rules," he grimaced.

"Well," the brunette paused, attempting to gain a little from the situation. "Is there anything at all that I could help with? You don't need to fill me in on anything," he looked hopefully at Inoichi. "It could save time, because it seems like you don't have much of that."

"Umm," Inoichi raised a hand to his forehead in frustration. "Would you have any idea where Kakashi would be?" he swiped his hand across his forehead as he lowered it, clearing it of the faint beads of perspiration that littered his skin.

Shikaku frowned at the question, curiosity rising slightly with the question. "Kakashi?" he frowned. "Where have you looked so far?"

Inoichi gestured down to the people bustling below them. "Just the streets, know anywhere else?"

"Hmm, have you tried the memorial grave?"

"…"

"…"

"Are you kidding me!" Inoichi shouted, changing direction midstride, pushing his body to the limit, leaving the Nara blinking owlishly behind him. "Why didn't I think of that before? Thanks Shikaku!" he yelled behind him.

"…No…problem," Shikaku shook his head in confusion, meekly raising his arm in farewell to the disappearing blonde.

'_The memorial grave!' _Inoichi could almost smack his head in frustration; he had completely overlooked the most obvious place. It was unlike him to miss such a palpable answer. His blunder was obviously caused by his panicked state of mind, but it wasted precious time that he didn't have to spare.

Bounding off the final rooftop, the Yamanaka wasted no time in shooting off into the trees, entering the clearing of training ground one, startling a newly formed Genin team who were practicing tree climbing on the grounds. Paying them no heed, he ignored their curious eyes and moments later, blurred past, leaving curious silence in his wake as he retreated into the distance of their sights.

Meanwhile, in his head, the blonde was raging a war with himself, shaking his head in frustration. _'Nice going, Inoichi,'_ he chided himself. _'What a great way of keeping this silent. You've practically made the entire village aware something's going down.' _Pushing his thoughts aside – he had better things to worry about – Inoichi continued his pace, only slowing slightly as the monument came into sight, uttering a sigh of relief as he spotted a lone figure standing before the stone.

The young Jonin gave no greeting or acknowledgment of Inoichi's presence as the blonde drew closer, instead choosing to continue staring at the shrine, head bowed low. Either he wasn't aware of Inoichi's presence, or simply couldn't care; the cyclops remained as stiff as ever. _'Must be the latter,'_ Inoichi mused; after all, he wasn't exactly masking his approach or advancing Kakashi stealthily. _'No one can be that dense.' _

"Kakashi," the blonde finally spoke, landing in the clearing behind the teenager, attempting to stable his breathing. "You're required at the Hokage tower, immediately, please."

Turning around slowly, the Jonin gave Inoichi a questioningly look, eyebrow raised in slight surprise, before giving a curt nod. "Of course," he replied simply, wasting no time in starting back towards the village, leaving the slightly calmer Yamanaka to stagger in his wake.

* * *

"Sensei, you wanted to see me?" Kakashi murmured respectfully, entering the Hokage's office and glancing around at its occupants after being ushered through by the secretary. Apparently, it appeared that his sensei had been eagerly awaiting his arrival, seated behind his desk with an uncharacteristically solemn look adorning his face. Seated in a nearby chair sat his fiancé, Kushina, biting her lip anxiously as she surveyed her lowers features. Then leaning against the window with his arms crossed was a very serious looking sennin. Anything that made the perverted face on Jiraiya-sama turn to a frown was seriously alarming, his curiously piped up a notch further.

"Ah, Kakashi," the Yondaime quickly rose to his feet, face looking a tad more positive. "We have a problem and you could be a huge help," he frowned. "…Naruto has somehow, or for some reason, vanished," he ignored Kakashi's incredulous look and continued. "We don't know why he left or whether that's even the case, so we need to act fast."

Kakashi nodded silently, he could easily see where this was going.

"We need you to use your ninken and locate him as quickly as possible. Begin your search from his bedroom at the Yamanaka residence. We know he was there last night for some time."

"Of course," Kakashi swiftly obeyed, flinging out a scroll, hands quickly flashing through a series of seals before slamming his hand down on the parchment.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

Blinking through the smoke that suddenly enveloped the room, Kakashi immediately locked eyes with Pakkun as his either ninken appeared, ready for service.

"Kakashi?" Pakkun's gruff voice sounded concerned, considering their crowd, Kakashi couldn't blame him.

"Pakkun, we have someone to track, let's get going," Kakashi's short response startled the dog, who immediately stiffened to attention at the serious tone.

"Where do we start?"

* * *

"This is the only lead we have," Kakashi mused, studying the small room which had, until recently, been home to the newest arrival to the village. His summons padded into the room behind him, all immediately crossing the room to catch a scent of the mission blonde.

"Anything?" the scarecrow questioned, looking down at Pakkun for his response as the pug turned to face him. From the corner of his eye he observed Bull separate from the group clustered around the bed, making his way over to the window and gingerly sniffing it.

"We have his scent" Pakkun confirmed, nodding his head. "He's obviously left of his own accord as well, he's been the only one in here," the small dog looked back towards Bull. "The dust has been disturbed on the window, most likely from last night; he was most likely looking for a way of escape. We just need to figure where he went from here."

Agreeing wordlessly, Kakashi turned and made his way from the room, the dogs on his heels. Emerging from the residence, Kakashi surveyed the nearby trees, swaying gently in the breeze. How carefree they appeared, unlike the way this day was turning out to be. Sighing deeply, he turned at the sound of Pakkun's voice, requesting their next move.

"Search around here for a recent scent to track, we will need to report something to sensei today, after all."

Hanging back and waiting patiently for his ninken to find a lead was not so simple for Kakashi. He was itching to set out and bring back slash find the blonde. He just couldn't get his head around the situation. The teenager had molded into their due of himself and Rin so well, he appeared content with where he was, that they were what he considered, friends. This just didn't make sense, whatsoever…

"--ashi. Kakashi," Pakkun's scruff voice brought him from his daydreams, shaking his head clear and focusing on the small dog standing at attention near the edge of thick canopy trees.

"Did you find something?"

"Mhm," he turned back to the ground and sniffed it again, in confirmation, the other dogs gathering around the small pug. "He has been here recently, it's very faint – most likely washed away by the rain – but it's there." he jerked a paw towards the tree. "Roughly heading that way."

"Good work!" Kakashi focused back onto the trees, a frown adorning his face. "Shiba," he now addressed the ninja dog. "You're to go report to the Hokage that we have a lead, and are tracking him now. Ask if there is anything specific we need to do if we find the… runaway, got it?"

Listening to the instructions with rapt attention, the dog barked in understanding, separating from the group, running back to the village with his message. Kakashi watched him until he was visible no more, before focusing back on the awaiting seven.

"Let's get going," he said solemnly, bounding off after the ninken as they disappeared into the forest, hoping yet not at the same time, to close the distance between the blonde.

Silence settled over the group as they proceeded at an advanced pace. Kakashi; caught up in conflicting thoughts over the missing friend and Pakkun; aware of a peculiar relationship between his summoner and the missing person, the dog respectfully giving Kakashi time to get his head around the situation. The remaining ninken remained fixated on the trail, urging their body to their limit as they pushed forward.

"Hmm, Kakashi," Pakkun finally turned back to the silver haired teenager with a frown upon his face, slowly down slightly to communicate more effectively. "Problem."

Wiping the drops of sweat from his brows, Kakashi fought back the urge to curse in frustration. What now?

Instead he kept his features unreadable, instead only calmly asking what the problem was.

"Well, that's the thing," Pakkun and the surrounding ninkens slowed to a stop. "His scent has been deteriorating the further in we progress, it's almost gone, no doubt washed away with the rain last night." The pug paused before nodded in a silent agreement. "I think we should split up to cover more ground, it would give us a better chance if we're about to be searching blind without any means of tracking."

"Hmm, that would be true," Kakashi mused, joining the dogs and crouching down to address them. "Bisuke, you and Guruko will continue forward, Akino and Uhei go to the left. Bull and Urushi at 10'o'clock," he straightened up. "Pakkun and I will head right, if you find anything, anything at all, let me know." He sized them all up, waiting before him. "Okay guys, scatter!"

"Kakashi?" Pakkun stood ready at his side, facing their area to cover, face firmly set into a grim expression. "Let's hurry."

"Let's," Kakashi agreed, finally leaping from the ground to take to the treetops, the small pug bounding beside him.

"Naruto, where are you?"

* * *

Waiting anxiously in his office, Minato didn't bother placing a façade on for people today. Instead a grim line had settled on his features, intimidating most that looked at him. After giving out a few 'D' rank missions – the Genin teams and sensei alike rushing from the room as he dismissed them – he placed the morning down as a lost cause, instead settling down to the tedious amount of paperwork awaiting on his desk. Really? What was the point in getting the Hokage to stamp _all _of these files? It was a completely unnecessary task that would have been placed under a 'D' rank of excitement.

'_Now that's an idea, make the stamping of important documents a mission.'_

Minato almost snorted to himself, maybe all the waiting was finally going to his head. _'Patience is a virtue, patience is a virtue,' _he began chanting to himself, stamping each slip in time to his beat – it certainly helped him from worrying about a potential spy delivering prime secrets about his village to some enemy.

Oh how he wished there was someone here to provide him with something distracting, anyone. He had advised Kushina to head home after dismissing Kakashi, not wanting her around in case the spy was brought in. His only company at the moment was Jiraiya, and he wasn't helping his mind one bit. He shot a frustrated look at the man now as another high pitched, almost squeak, echoed through the silent room. The famed sennin, who was feared and admired wherever he journeyed, didn't look too impressive now. The man had sprawled out on the couch in his office, making himself home, giggling lecherously into one of his books.

No help there.

He could almost face palm himself at the sight. Certainly, he had insisted that his sensei leave, that he would inform him when any news came in on Naruto, but no. The famed pervert had _insisted _on staying, so as not to waste any time if any information came.

The operative word there being if.

'_That if better come soon,' _Minato rolled his eyes, stretching his body and hearing his joints pop as he rose to his feet and walked to the window – all the better of not witnessing his sensei at his most degrading point.

Studying the streets below him, the young Hokage almost jumped with relief as he caught a glimpse of one of Kakashi's ninken rushing towards the tower. He didn't have to sit around hoping for the best!

Launching away from the window, Minato rushed from the room, forgetting in the moment to give notice to his sensei that the time had come.

No matter.

As soon as he had flown past, the sennin had jumped to his feet, all traces of the humiliating pervert gone. The large figure that bounded after his student, throwing his forgotten book behind him, was one that reeked of power and pain to whoever stood against him.

Minato had met up with Shiba just as the ninken was entering the tower. Skidding to a stop as he saw the waiting Hokage, the dog needed no prompting, immediately turning tail and began the track back to the Yamanaka residence, the Yondaime and toad sennin Jiraiya racing behind him.

For the batter half of the journey, the group pressed on in silence. The tension was thick in the air, both Minato and Jiraiya anxious to find the runaway Naruto and determine his motions. Only when the trio reached the Yamanaka residence did they pause, allowing Shiba to pick up Kakashi's trail and resume the hunt.

After racing through the treetops at breakneck speed, the small group felt successful that they had caught up to the bigger pack they were seeking out. Up ahead, they could faintly hear the soft padding of someone's soles hitting the tree branches. Nodding at Jiraiya, Minato pushed his legs even faster still, not eager to call out and alert any potential ears within range.

Closing the distance between the groups, Minato almost smiled as the back of his students profile came into view, although he noted with faint curiosity that only Pakkun was accompanying him. Aware of their advance, Kakashi spun around, kunai already drawn from his pouch. Locking eyes with the crystal blue eyes of his sensei, he relaxed, retracting his weapon as they reached his side.

"Kakashi," Minato nodded his head in greeting, gesturing with his hands that they continued on. The teenager smiled in greeting before setting off again, Minato and Jiraiya side by side as they pushed themselves to keep pace, limbs protesting after the exertion they had taken to reach him.

"So," Jiraiya finally decided to speak, confusion adorning his face. "What happened to your other summons, Kakashi? Dismissed them?"

"No," Kakashi shook his head. "The rain from last night had washed away the trail, so we split up to have a better chance of discovering something."

Jiraiya simply nodded, accepting the answer. "Where was the scent last found?"

Kakashi carelessly waved a hand behind him. "Only a little in from the Yamanaka's, we didn't have much to work with," he sighed.

The sennin openly frowned now, weighing the odds. "But… that would mean we would have to scout nearly the entire forest," he voiced, discouraged, "for a trail or clue that might not even exist."

"That pretty much sums it up," Kakashi agreed. "It's like looking for a needle in a haystack, but the needle might've been chucked into the bin instead of the stack."

Minato groaned. "This day just keeps getting better and better."

Jiraiya laughed, although inside he was feeling just as gloomy. "It's going to be fine, Minato. We'll find the brat, you kick his arse or if you want, I will. He probably didn't even realize he had ran off far, I swear he's learning your habits of spacing out," the sennin teased gently.

"Maybe he is," Minato chuckled softly; face splitting into a smile despite the bleak situation. "Kakashi," he turned to the youth. "You were with him all that time during your mission, do you think that's even slightly possible?" the blonde's voice sounded slightly hopeful.

Kakashi frowned as he thought back to the missions he had shared with the blonde. Something did seem familiar there. "Actually…," he paused, drawing claiming the undivided attention of the two adults. "I think it could be very possible. He sometimes acts before thinking, is brash and straightforward," he smiled softly. "But from the missions I have taken with him, he seems to cherish loyalty and friendship above all things, so I really hope that is th--."

Breaking off midsentence, Kakashi paused on the current tree branch he had bounded onto, listening intently. To his side, Pakkun had also skidded to a stop, head cocked and ears twitching to the faint sound echoing throughout the air. Shaking his head in frustration and disappointment, Kakashi turned back to Pakkun, who remained in the same position. The three males waited anxiously, hardly daring to breathe, eyes locked onto the constant twitching of the pugs' ears, as if he was detecting sound waves through the air that they failed to pick up. Finally, after what seemed like an age, the dog straightened up, a grimace spreading across his face.

There could only be one reason.

"Where?" Minato interjected sharply, body stiff with tension, he could finally get some answers.

Instead of replying, the pug turned and began making his way west to where they were stationed, cutting back across the forest, the three shinobi wasting no time in pursuing him.

"I don't know much," Pakkun admitted, glancing sideways at his companions as they raced through the canopy trees. "I was only told that Akino and Uhei found something in one of those old training grounds," he paused, catching sight of the furious expressions on the faces around him. He would need to be cautious about mentioning delicate details to the group. '_Hmm, it wouldn't go down well,' _he finally stopped himself. _''They'll need to see it for themselves,'_

"Let's just hurry," he finished wisely, urging the group to stay positive, advancing on their destination like a tidal wave.

The quad journeyed the rest of the way in silence, all caught up in their thoughts of what waited ahead. What had Naruto left behind? Was it even something related to this situation? Was he a spy? Had he fooled them all? Was it him that was found? Ideas raced through their minds, some were wild, some out of proportion, but they all succeeded in pushing everything else from the picture.

The group finally emerged from the tree tops, joining the remaining ninken who had all been alerted by one of the duo that stumbled upon the discovery. The quad jumped down into the edge of the clearing, taking in the area that was presented before them.

…

"…Shit," Jiraiya mumbled.

That summed it up pretty well in Minato's opinion. There might have also been a few more choice four letter words that would describe the horror that faced them. A bundled heap lay motionless in a reasonable sized crater. The figure was unidentifiable, due to the red sticky substance that covered it from head to toe.

Kakashi swallowed thickly, fighting to keep his breakfast down. The body - if it could be called that – looked as if it had been placed through a shredder. There was not one square inch on the body that appeared untouched. In order to control his stomach, Kakashi held back and his sensei and Jiraiya rushed forward.

Minato's breaths came out harsh and sharp with each step closer to the body he took. The body – for what else could he call it, there was no life within – was lying face down in a large pool of blood. The red puddle surrounding the body was already drying in places, indicating the casualty had occurred sometime ago, most likely during the night or early hours of the morning.

Kneeling down beside the body, Minato subconsciously reached out a hand, he _had _to know, know if it was the teenager they were tracking down. Placing one hand firmly on the back and one on the shoulder, the blonde carefully rolled the body over, revealing an all too familiar face.

Stifling a startled gasp, Minato turned away, bile rising up his throat. It was no good, the image already burned plainly into his mind. The face, even covered in blood, failed to cover up the whisker like scars adorning the face of the once vibrant teen. It was too much for him now, to see the lifeless body of one who had been so full of life, brimming with confidence of a lively future.

All to be forgotten.

Jiraiya cursed loudly, identifying the face a few moments behind his student. _Who would do such a thing?_ What could the blonde have done to possible deserve this fate?

Beside him, Minato rose to his feet, pain visible in his eyes. He wordlessly turned and ambled away, stepping up beside the pale teenager who was observing from the sidelines, shock prominent even from the small amount of his face visible. The cyclops wordlessly turned to his sensei, who spoke softly to him, a hard line of determination replacing his features. Nodding, Kakashi gestured to his ninken, the dogs all sitting on their haunches, awaiting orders.

"Locate any trail from here that doesn't belong to Naruto's," he spoke gruffly. "Determine their whereabouts."

Pakkun glanced around at the other ninja dogs before turning back to Kakashi. "Got it, boss," he mumbled, dashing after the others, leaving a very solemn group behind.

"…Uh," Jiraiya looked up at the blonde Hokage, confusion in his eyes. "You might want to check this out, Minato. I think he's still alive."

"What?" Minato paced back towards his mentor, crouching down once again beside the body. His sensei had two fingers pressed firmly against the bloody flesh of the teenagers' neck, in the act of searching for a pulse.

"There," he murmured, gazing down at Naruto's face. "I can feel it," he breathed. "I'm sure he's still with us."

"That's not possible, not in that state." Minato brushed Jiraiya's fingers aside, doubt making him check the body himself. He held his fingers against the teenagers neck for a few moments, breath catching as he paused, unable to believe it was true. It was faint but it was there.

Naruto was alive.

"Kakashi!" Minato suddenly shouted, beside himself with relief. The blonde teenager shouldn't have been able to survive an attack if he came out looking like that, but right now he was too relieved to care. "I need you to get back to the village; I want you to go straight to my personal room in the hospital. Leave one of these there," the blonde casually tossed a three pronged kunai to the youth. "Then go find Tsunade, bring her there at once. Hopefully by then the doctors will have cleaned this off," he nodded to the blood covering Naruto. "Please hurry, Kakashi," he voiced strongly, giving his dismissal, as Kakashi made haste again, this time back towards the village.

"He'll be alright, Minato," Jiraiya consoled soothingly as Minato paced back to Naruto, beginning to gather the teen in his arms – better to be ready and waste no time when they could move. "He's strong."

Minato glanced down at the blood covered blonde, at the state his body was is, and smiled confidently. "That, he definitely is."

* * *

Minato sighed impatiently, tapping his foot impatiently against the waiting chair he was situated on, every now and again shooting alternate looks between the white door in front of him and his sensei beside him.

Their plan had gone according to plan. Naruto had been swiftly brought to the hospital, quickly gaining the attention of his most proficient medic's. The teenager had been cleaned up and ready for Tsunade when the busty woman had burst through the door, exclaiming about debts now being repaid with her visit.

The woman was now tending to him now, after boldly ushering everyone out – including Minato – who resulted him now spending the rest of his day looking at a white door. She had only emerged once, reassuring him that the young blonde was out of a critical stage, before ducking back behind the door.

Now Minato was once again forced to sit near his perverted teacher, who had somehow managed to fish another one of his filthy novels from a back pocket. At least **he** had something to distract him from what had been a catastrophic day.

Humming a tune to drown out the giggling around him, Minato looked around at a wall clock, noting it was late afternoon. He had been sitting for the better part of three hours; the suspense was going to kill him.

"Minato," he started at the sound of his name, looking at his sensei, the man quickly closing his book with a sharp snap.

"Hmm?" he murmured, stretching his arms above his head, rolling his head to work the kinks out of his neck at the same time.

"Don't you wonder… why he was attacked in the first place?" the sennin questioned, concern written across his face. "No Konoha shinobi would turn on each other; somehow there **was **an enemy or enemies that infiltrated. Were they targeting him specially? We might not ever know."

"Well, might now be our chance to find out," Minato rose to his feet, nodding to the door that had opened before them, Tsunade managing a small smile at them in confirmation of success.

Closely following his student into the room, Jiraiya's eyes zoomed in on the figure on the bed. There were wires adorning his body, machines softly beeping throughout the room – all normal. Then Jiraiya frowned as he studied the teenager breathing softly upon the bed. There was something… different with this picture.

Minato stopped dead in his tracks after catching sight of the younger blonde. It wasn't the battered state that he was in… it was just…

He looked… different.

Naruto's face had changed shape slightly, giving him a little more rounded look, almost chubby. His hair also seemed slightly… shorter? The change wouldn't be noticeable to most, but to the older blonde who had observed him closely since he had joined his team, it was plainly obvious.

If Minato dared to admit it… he would say Naruto looked… younger.

"…Um," Tsunade trailed a slim finger down a piece of paper, displaying the results of Naruto's health. "He seems to be fine, although…" she paused, frowning. "There was some… substance in his body that I wasn't able to identify; we'll have to look into that more closely to see if it's done anything."

"…Er," Minato cleared his throat. "I think it already has."

"What do you me—" she paused midsentence, shocked into silence as the blondes eyelids began to twitch, clearing indicating he was on her verge of waking up.

"—The heck?" she questioned in amazement, walking around to stand at the head of his bed. "There is no way he should be able to regain consciousness, not after that ordeal."

"I think it's safe to say there is something strange about this one," Minato confessed, watching as Naruto's breath picked up, a low hiss of pain escaping his mouth.

"Easy there," Tsunade coaxed gently, turning back to her patient. "Don't put your body under strain; you need to let it relax."

Groaning softly, Naruto stirred restlessly before blearily opening his eyes, wincing and snapping them closed almost immediately as the harsh light blinded him.

Jiraiya let loose a loud laugh of relief. "You sure know how to make everyone worried, kid. I wish I could learn your secret so I could have someone fawn over me," he grinned, earning a glare from Tsunade.

"Mm," Naruto mumbled, opening his eyes again only a fraction, allowing them to adjust to the sunlight still streaming through the open window. Once sure he could stand the brightness, his eyes opening fully, blinking owlishly at the concerned face of Tsunade hovering protectively over him.

He felt… unusual.

Gathering his strength, Naruto painfully lifted his neck, bringing one hand than the other behind him to help support his body is sitting up. Tsunade, seeing him struggle, naturally swooped in to assist, using her strength to easily prop him up comfortably against the frame.

Naruto glanced across the room, seeing the concerned faces of Yondaime and Jiraiya brought a small tug at the corners of his lips, attempting to raise them in a smile. He felt, warm and wanted when he saw faces like that, from people who **care.**

His smile was short lived however, when he immediately spotted his reflection in the large, full size mirror across the room from him. The grin slipped off his face as soon as it emerged, the concerned teen raising a shaking hand to poke his face in confirmation.

Horrified, Naruto studied his gaze for a few more seconds, biting his lip anxiously. His eyes then focused on Minato's face in explanation, a pleading expression upon his younger face.

"What's happening to me?"

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Reviews are very much appreciated. Thank-you!


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: **Don't own, don't sue.

I received a few reviews concerning the end of the last chapter, asking if I had used the idea from one 'Detective Conan'. I actually hadn't even heard of this manga before, and went to skim over the plot of it. I don't think it is going to have the same result as my story though, I surely hope not.

Um, really sorry for the very late update. Call me Miss Lazy.

**Previously:**

Horrified, Naruto studied his gaze for a few more seconds, biting his lip anxiously. His eyes then focused on Minato's face in explanation, a pleading expression upon his younger face.

"What's happening to me?"

* * *

**Two Blondes, One Time Era**

Chapter Nine

Published: 11-27-10

* * *

There was silence inside an occupied hospital room in Konoha. The mad twittering of nearby birds echoed deafeningly in the ward as the occupants were rooted to the floor where they stood – or sat, various looks of frustration and confusion locked on their faces. The tension in the room mounted, both male adults hesitating slightly, as if unsure about whether to start talking. Both sweated profusely as they chose their words carefully, in an attempt to keep the frozen blonde on the hospital bed calm.

"Umm, I don't know?" Minato laughed meekly, trying to find some humor in the sudden predicament, as Jiraiya face palmed behind him. Naruto continued to observe his younger image, heart pounding madly between his ribs.

'_Why does everything weird happen to me,_' he inwardly fumed, probing his reflection in a desperate attempt for answers. Still, although it wasn't a dramatic alteration in his appearance, it still mattered greatly to the blonde. If his hair and face had shifted to a younger Naruto – probably around a year younger – no doubt his height had been stunted as well.

To put it simply, Naruto was furious.

It had taken him years to finally attain a decent height, and now – impossibly – it was being taken from him.

"You don't... know?" the voice echoed hollowly around Naruto, as he struggled to cope with the situation. "You're the Yondaime, for crying out loud! Surely you know something… you know everything." By now the boy was practically begging, eyes wide with disbelief, clutching his bed sheets tightly in his fists as he attempted to control his sudden accelerated breathing.

Perplexed, Minato raised his eyes skeptically. "Well," he chuckled, "I certainly wouldn't go as far as to claim that. There are many things everyone can learn and we do make mistakes," he smiled coyly, attempting to assure the distressed boy. "We are human, after all."

"…" Naruto paused momentarily before making an attempt to rid himself of the crisp white sheets surrounding him. Releasing his death grip on the cloth, he hastily pushed it away, scooting up against the bed rest, drawing his legs up to his chest. Watching over the conversation with suspicious eyes, Tsunade remained silent, merrily stepping closer to the side of her patients bed – if need be to restrain the boy from leaving.

Her movement however didn't go unnoticed by the 'patient', who shot her a confused look, before his eyes hardened considerably. "Oh," he scoffed, "so now I'm suddenly the enemy." His voice began rising with each punctured syllable, shaking slightly in anger. "You have no right to keep me here, I haven't done anything!"

"Hmm," Minato plonked himself down into a nearby chair, leaning back comfortably. "That is the problem isn't it? As far as we've established, enemy nin went to enough trouble to sneak in undetected and to get you alone. Unless of course, they weren't targeting you specifically?" he raised his eyebrows, tone indicating he believed that unlikely.

Rubbing a hand tiredly against his temples, feeling the buildup of a headache coming on, Naruto attempted to remember every detail of the attack. Why had they targeted him? It was surprising, considering he had never gone anywhere near rock country. Not even in his former time line had he gone there. So just why had those rock ninjas try to kill him, wanting him out of the picture so much by even going as far as to assign his extermination as a mission.

"No," Naruto croaked, glancing over at Tsunade who still observed him like a hawk. "They were after me - four shinobi from Iwa. They openly spoke about a mission given specifically to get rid of me, but I don't know why."

Silence once again fell in the room, each attempting to gain a little incite as to why the enthusiastic blonde was a sudden target to the enemy village. The stillness in the room stretched on, each face pitched with a look of deep concentration. Even the toad sannin had an uncharacteristic look of deliberation etched on his features, lips pursed in a grim line of thought.

Finally, a hastily cleared throat broke the stillness settling over the room. Well," Minato began slowly, attempting to weigh up the situation. "Whatever the reason why, which we will find out, by the way," he shot Naruto a slightly suspicious look who turned away with a small 'hmph'. "It would seem to be in our best interests if you were to have an escort with you at all times. No, don't interrupt me," he interjected, seeing the teenager open his mouth furiously in protest. "I will not be having the people of my village put at risk, simply for not having someone keep an eye on you." By now, the Yondaime had risen and crossed the room, opting to gaze out the window instead of looking at the boy as he gave his conditions – he didn't want to see the look of hurt in his eyes.

"Well," Naruto deadpanned, getting straight to the point. "Who's going to be the one 'escorting' me?" he scrunched his nose up in distaste.

"Minato," Jiraiya quickly interjected, striding over to his former pupil, laying a consoling hand on his shoulder. "I could keep an eye on the boy easily. I'm heading over to Suna for business and can take him with me," he nodded, liking the sound of his idea. "I'll be able to fend off any shinobi that may take a go at him, plus he'll be out of the village, so it will give enemies no reason to target Konoha getting to him.

"Ah, sensei," Minato murmured, "If only it were that simple." Turning around to face the occupants of the room, he grimaced slightly at Tsunade's confused gaze boring into him. Nodding slightly at the woman, he gave her an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, but if you could please excuse us for a little while, Tsunade, your teammate and I have a few things to discuss."

Nodding suspiciously, Tsunade shot a calculating glare at Jiraiya, the man giving her a sheepish grin as he waved her farewell. Hard eyes demanding answers, the slug sannin instead opted to remain silent, making her way from the room. As her back was receding through the hospital door, the audible sound of cracking knuckles reached them all, Jiraiya grimaced slightly.

He was royally screwed.

No sooner than the woman had departed, the Yondaime quickly strode across the room, closing the door softly with a faint click. Turning back to a frustrated looking Naruto and a pale Jiraiya, he sighed wearily before returning back to his former seat, running a hand through his hair, giving it – if possible – an even more disheveled look.

"You aren't going to tell her, Minato?" Jiraiya voiced his thoughts, concern written across his face – from Yondaime's plan or Tsunade's promised pain, he wasn't sure.

The older blonde shook his head. "For the moment, no," he frowned. "The situation is rather... delicate, so the less people that know, the better."

"Minato," Jiraiya lurched towards his student, beads of sweat forming on his brow. "You do realize she'll kill me?" he continued rambling on, neglecting to notice the small smile pulling at his former students lips. "Not telling her is signing my death wish, sealing the letter and organizing my funeral time," his voice lowered drastically till he was barely whispering, wary of her wrath. "Did you see and hear her back there? I'm a goner."

"I assure you, sensei, that while Tsunade was here I was both blind and deaf," Minato chuckled, earning a glare from the sannin. "Relax," he continued, "I'm sure she won't be that difficult."

"Easy for you to say."

"Well, back to the topic now, there's only a few huge gaping loopholes in your situation, sensei," Minato continued off once again, snapping Naruto out of his daze. The boy had been watching the commotion silently with a monstrous grin adorning his face. "First," he held up a finger, "we are only on thin ice – at best – with Suna at the moment. Just because I give clearance to Naruto being allowed into the village because I have heard his story, doesn't mean others will be so lenient," he cleared his throat. "Even you had your doubts after hearing his explanation, so why would a different nation trust us blindly that he is safe clearance? There is no possibility of telling them about the situation, it's too risky."

"Fair point," Jiraiya grumbled, earning a slight snigger from the two blondes.

"Secondly," managing to compose himself, the Yondaime added a second digit to the first. "While you are perfectly able to protect him from any rouge ninja after him, you forget that a mission was constructed in his extermination. You won't just have the occasional ninja after you," he took a breath. "You will have lots, and the Tsuchikage will, no doubt, send his most efficient soldiers at his disposal, considering his first failed attempt." He raised his eyebrows at the toad sannin. "Can you honestly say you can protect him, when you don't know the magnitude of what you're facing?"

"No, I can't," Jiraiya lowered his head. "I really didn't think it through, did I?"

Shaking his head in amusement at the antics of his sensei, Minato plowed on. "We can't risk him getting captured. The only reason I can think of that they are after him, is if they know the reasoning behind him being here. If they get their hands on him, they'll be able to wheedle that information out of him, which would have devastating consequences for the village, as they would know all future plans."

Naruto nodded his head in agreement - he really didn't want to get acquainted with Iwagakures torture methods.

"And finally," another finger rose to join the two already standing adjacent each other. "Having Naruto out of the village wouldn't pose any less threat to the village. "They would think he's still here if they don't notice him leaving with you. Yet if they do see him leave, they would think it's potentially a trap or doppelganger. We can't underestimate them at all, they'll be constantly thinking from the box, and would target both situations, to make sure they get their target.

By now, Jiraiya had sunk low in his chair, wallowing in the loss of what he thought was a flawless plan.

"So now," Minato mused, eyes flickering back onto Naruto, the boy looking abashed at the trouble going towards him. "Who should we put you with?"

Naruto subconsciously leaned forward, desperate to hear who he would be placed with.

"I've got it!" Jiraiya shouted, "Why don't you do it?"

Naruto fell off his bed.

"What?" he spluttered, raising his head from the hard floor. "The Yondaime?"

"I wouldn't think you would come up with that idea, Jiraiya-sensei," Minato frowned.

"Have you gone senile, Ero-sennin!"

"Think about it, Minato," Jiraiya probed, "Never would they think we would place him with you. You're the most prominent figure in the village, so it's the last thing they will be expecting," Jiraiya's voice grew louder with each passing syllable, expressing his excitement. "They will, no doubt, expect us to hide him, put him out of the way with some secret shinobi so they can't find him."

"Yes…" Minato sighed. "That was sort of what I was basing my plan around, so he's not found. Unlike what will happen if he's gallivanting around with the Hokage every day."

Flailing his hands around in exaggeration, Jiraiya continued to grin. "Haven't you ever heard the saying 'hiding things in plain sight'?"

"But, what about my Hokage duties? I can't just take him with me everywhere!"

"Just give him one of your kunai to hang onto when you're not around," Jiraiya reenacted a swinging motion – no doubt demonstrating how to throw a kunai. Naruto – still residing on the floor – stuffed his fist in his mouth to stifle the giggles.

"Well," Minato rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "it could work." He looked down to the boy on the floor, grinning as he saw the teenager still attempting to control his laughter. "What do you think?"

"Sounds good to me," Naruto choked out, wiping away a few stay tears that had cascaded down his cheeks during his fit of laughter. "Does that mean I will be staying with you?"

"At my house, yes. There will be rules for you to follow as well, and I expect you to abide by them at all times."

"Alright," Naruto nodded enthusiastically, he could follow rules. He could hardly get his head around that he would be staying with Yondaime! The man he always looked up to and hoped to surpass! It was unbelievable, incredible, amazing, wonderf-

"Stop babbling to yourself, Naruto," Minato chided the teenager, yet was unable to stop himself from emitting a soft chuckle. The boy was acting as if all his wildest dreams had come true.

Naruto grinned sheepishly up at him, running a hand through his hair. "I'm just excited,"

"That much is evident," Minato shook his head in amusement before standing and holding a hand down to the boy. "Shall we go and get you acquainted with your new residence? That is, if you feel up for it."

Nodding in agreement, Naruto took the offered hand and allowed himself to be pulled to his feet. "I feel great, I'm up for it."

"Good," Minato turned back and addressed Jiraiya. "I think that's all for now, sensei. I'll let you get on with your trip to Suna."

Accepting the dismissal, Jiraiya quickly rose and accompanied the two blondes who were making for the exit. "Alright, Minato. I don't know how long I'll be gone either, but don't hesitate to contact me if anything arises." He looked down at the younger blonde who was practically bouncing with excitement. "Umm… good luck?"

"I'll need it," Minato mumbled to himself before taking off in pursuit of the enthusiastic boy bounding from the hospital door. "Naruto, come back! You don't even know where you're going!"

Skidding to a stop at these words, Naruto paused to wait for the Hokage. Minato, unprepared for his charges sudden halt, swore softly to himself as he barreled straight into the teenager, sending them both to the ground.

"Oops," Naruto ground out through a mouthful of dirt, starting to untangle himself unceremoniously from the limbs of the older blonde, the latter muttering obscurities about over exuberant teenagers.

"'Opps' doesn't sum it up," the man scathingly replied, noticing the attention they were quickly gaining from the disturbance. "Let's make haste before I'm the laughing stock of the village," he ground out, throwing one of Naruto's legs off his midriff.

"What, you aren't already?" Naruto cheekily replied, but nevertheless bounded after the older blonde who had risen and was now making his way through Konoha at a brisk pace.

The pair continued on in silence after their little accident, both trying hard to ignore the giggles and whispers that followed them in their wake, both knowing they looked a sight. Covered in dirt and – in Minato's case – his beautiful blonde hair slick with mud from an inconvenient puddle right where his head had landed. He looked like young Maito Gai.

Damn that rain.

"Ignore them, ignore them," he chanted to himself, trying to block out the laughter with his mantra.

"It doesn't look all that bad," Naruto attempted to console him, no doubt feeling guilty. "You just look like bushy brows, minus the spandex and enthusiasm."

Minato raked a hand through his hair in frustration – or tried to. Lowering the muddy hand down to his side, he took a few deep breaths, subconsciously clenching his fists as he tried to calm himself. "You're lucky," he muttered, seeing a familiar form and sighing in relief. "That we're already there," he nodded his head towards the approaching structure, the house immediately catching Naruto's eyes.

"Wow," he breathed, gazing up at the massive house before him. "It's amazing!"

The house – if he could call it that, it was more like a mansion – was structured with elegance. The creamy white house stretched out and around, almost looking like a semi-circle. The black coloured roof itself had many layers and heights, indicating different levels within the house. Light blue pillars adorned the opening entrance, with simple – yet beautiful – potted plants at either wide of the welcoming door.

It looked like a place fit for a king.

"Shall we?" Minato interjected Naruto's thoughts. "Lest you stand around gaping like a fish, drawing even more attention to us."

Not waiting for a reply, the Yondaime quickly strode up to the door, Naruto trailing along behind him. He reached the house just as the older blonde was kicking off his shoes, the man pausing to beckon him to follow as he swiftly stepped over the threshold into the house.

Hastily throwing his own sandals from his feet, Naruto joined the man who was waiting for him patiently in the entrance hallway. Nodding in approval, the man raised a hand for attention.

"Alright," he began, "I think it's best if I show you to your sleeping arrangements first, you can clean yourself up in the bathroom. We'll then go over a few ground rules of what's going to hap-"

"What an earth have you been doing, Minato!"

Snapping his mouth closed, Minato turned and beamed at the woman who had appeared at the end of the hallway. Her slim face was twisted in disapproval, although there was a sparkle of laughter in her violet eyes. Those same eyes then moved to his companion, a smaller blonde who so resembled her husband, save for the three whisker marks adorning each cheek.

Her eyes widened.

"Naruto," Minato placed a hand on top of the boys head. "I'd like you to meet my wife, Uzumaki Kushina."

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A/N – Miss Lazy needs to be a bit more proactive and not ignore this story, so sorry. Very short and boring chapter, but I needed to get something out sooner or later. Naruto's growth stunt will be explained about in future chapters as well.

Reviews make my world go round, but I suppose so does a well deserved fist for neglecting this story. Either works for me.


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